The starting price stood at EUR23.5 million, less than a quarter compared with the EUR100 million the mall was sold for in 2006.
Three months ago, when the first announcement on the sale of the project was made, the starting price, of EUR33 million, seemed affordable, considering that in 2010 Tiago mall in Oradea, which had no tenants and was never operational, was sold for about the same amount after bankruptcy.
The City Mall’s price has dropped by EUR10 million or around 30% in three months, but investors still have not showed any interest in the shopping center, though its price is now similar to that of a Bucharest old apartment: EUR1,200/square meter, given the 19,000 square meter lettable area of the project.
ZF several months ago conducted a survey among real estate consultants to identify “the best mall” in Bucharest based on several criteria.
Projects were assessed based on ten criteria and for six of them City Mall was not rated among the top five by any of the eight retail consultants taking part in the survey.
Thus, the six chapters where City Mall is scored lower compared
to the other Bucharest shopping centers are: financial performance,
management, general look, entertainment and food courts and the
purchasing power of inhabitants in the neighborhood.
City Mall, however, is the only large shopping center that has ever
been sold in Bucharest, the last time in 2006, so that valuations
are the more difficult to make.
The representatives of Casa de Insolventa Transilvania, the liquidator of the project, announced they would hold another auction, which could be the last one, at a 5-10% lower price, namely EUR21-22 million.