The commercial real estate markets in central and eastern Europe are showing signs of a relative pick-up in activity, and conditions are shifting from a tenants’ market to a more balanced market in many cities.

According to research from Jones Lang LaSalle, the markets of Budapest, Bucharest and Warsaw will shift to a more balanced market between landlords and tenants in 2011. Meanwhile, Bratislava and Prague are expected to continue to be favourable to tenants in 2011, but should shift to more balanced markets in 2012.

Warsaw, which currently has a vacancy rate of 7.2 percent, is expected to become favourable to landlords in 2012.

“Not all countries in the CEE region were as severely impacted as others in the region by the downturn, including Poland, which did not experience any negative economic growth between 2008 and 2010,” comments John Duckworth, managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle Central and Eastern Europe.

Transaction activity has also