While 2023 could be described as a crisis year in terms of the real estate business, last year things started to settle down. Buyers began returning to the market and property sales took off. This significantly improved the mood of developers. Revived sales motivated them to launch new projects. How did this situation affect the positions of the strongest players on the real estate market? The answer to this question is given by the ranking of the largest Slovak residential developers, compiled by The Slovak Spectator as part of its Largest in Business project. We have based our analysis on data provided by developers. The main criteria for determining the ranking were the area of projects under construction at the end of 2024, the area of completed residential projects and the number of flats sold in the past year. The formula also included projects completed between 2022 and 2024 and the area of planned projects for which the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process has already started. Flats that received final building approval in 2024: 207Flats that received final building approval in the years 2022 to 2023: 148Flats under construction: 148Number of flats sold in 2024: 114Ranking position in 2023: - Reinoo, a company from Žilina, has made its way into the top 10 of the largest residential developers for the first time. It is a developer whose main representative is the original founder of the internet company Azet, Milan Dubec. Reinoo operates in northern Slovakia. Last year it completed another stage of the Pod Zábrehom project in Púchov, and in Žilina it completed the third stage of the Zelené Vlčince project, which brought 74 residential units to the market. Reinoo is currently implementing the fourth stage of Zelené Vlčince, comprising another 148 flats. It plans to build hundreds of flats in the third stage of Pod Zábrehom and in several projects in Žilina. It is expected that the developer will also enter the Bratislava real estate market. 9. ITB Development Flats that received final building approval in 2024: 0Flats that received final building approval in the years 2022 to 2023: 243Flats under construction: 360Number of flats sold in 2024: 144Ranking position in 2023: 5 ITB Development is active especially in the Dúbravka borough of Bratislava, where it is implementing the Čerešne project. It has 360 residential units under construction. Most of them are in Čerešne Residence, where 255 flats are being built. ITB is also drawing the next stage of Čerešne Plaza in this locality. In addition, it has announced a new residential project in Devínska Nová Ves with the working title Slnečný Vrch 2, comprising 468 flats. 8. VI Group Flats that received final building approval in 2024: 60Flats that received final building approval in the years 2022 to 2023: 471Flats under construction: 272Number of flats sold in 2024: 215Ranking position in 2023: 9 VI Group improved by one place in our ranking year-on-year. Last year, it completed the Topoľčianska project in Bratislava’s Petržalka borough, which created 60 residential units near Veľký Draždiak lake. In Bratislava, VI Group is also behind the Verdena project. However, Gerlach Rezort has bigger parameters, which will create a complex with 219 apartments in Gerlachov, under the High Tatra mountains in northern Slovakia. The developer is also preparing two other Bratislava projects, which are scheduled for construction in 2026 and 2028. In total, they should offer 330 flats. 7. Alto Real Estate Flats that received final building approval in 2024: 264Flats that received final building approval in the years 2022 to 2023: 0Flats under construction: 707Number of flats sold in 2024: 102Ranking position in 2023: 8 Alto Real Estate, backed by Jozef Oravkin, an ex-partner of the Penta financial group, completed the fourth Sky Park tower last year. It introduced 264 flats to the market. The fifth Sky Park tower is still under construction. Originally it was supposed to have housed offices, but the developer changed its focus, and so Sky Park Tower will offer 393 residential units. Alto is also behind the Florian Residence project near the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) building in the wider centre of Bratislava, which is to include 314 flats in addition to smaller commercial spaces. 6. Lucron Group Flats that received final building approval in 2024: 387Flats that received final building approval in the years 2022 to 2023: 300Flats under construction: 162Number of flats sold in 2024: 243Ranking position in 2023: 3 Lucron completed almost 400 residential units last year. Stage C of the Nesto project offered 180 flats and its flagship project Vydrica expanded the housing offer in the centre of the capital city by 207 residential units in two stages. Last year, the developer launched the Rakyta project in Bratislava’s Devínska Nová Ves, where 162 flats will be constructed in two stages. This is only the beginning, with plans for further stages. Hundreds of flats should be added to the continuation of Nesto in Bratislava and Arboria in Trnava. Flats that received final building approval in 2024: 99Flats that received final building approval in the years 2022 to 2023: 192Flats under construction: 538Number of flats sold in 2024: 250Ranking position in 2023: 6 2024 was a very good year for the Ismont development group. In flat sales, it entered the ranking of the most successful players on the market. Last year, Ismont completed the V Korunách project in Miloslavov near Bratislava. In addition, it has 538 flats under construction in the Riviéra project in Nitra, Mike in Trnava and Noemise in Stupava. Riviéra, for example, will offer 240 flats and apartments to the market. The developer wants to strengthen its position in the regions. In Banská Bystrica it is preparing the Istrica project with 278 flats. 4. YIT Slovakia Flats that received final building approval in 2024: 290Flats that received final building approval in the years 2022 to 2023: 731Flats under construction: 384Number of flats sold in 2024: 285Ranking position in 2023: 4 YIT Slovakia defended its fourth position in the ranking from the previous year. It owes this to the Bratislava projects Nuppu and Zwirn. Last year it completed the Nuppu 13 stage with 95 flats and Zwirn introduced almost two hundred residential units to the market. In the coming months, the developer plans to focus on the next stage of Zwirn, which has 384 flats under construction. Mlynárka and the project on Viedenská cesta, where a total of over 400 flats are to be built, are awaiting the start of implementation. 3. Penta Real Estate Flats that received final building approval in 2024: 404Flats that received final building approval in the years 2022 to 2023: 718Flats under construction: Number of flats sold in 2024: 225Ranking position in 2023: 7 We can consider Penta Real Estate as the jumper of the year in the ranking. It improved by four places year-on-year. Last year it managed to complete the Pri Mýte project, which brought 98 residential units to the market. However, the larger portion fell to Bory on the western outskirts of Bratislava, or their Na Hrádzi stage, which created 306 flats and apartments. Bory will continue to grow in the coming years, with more than 900 flats planned in the next three stages. In addition, Penta Real Estate is preparing the Medze multifunctional complex, a project with the working name Vajnorská as well as Southbank on the Petržalka bank of the Danube. The flats will be counted in the hundreds in all three projects. Flats that received final building approval in 2024: 477Flats that received final building approval in the years 2022 to 2023: 1512Flats under construction: 736Number of flats sold in 2024: 287Ranking position in 2023: 2 JTRE (formerly J&T Real Estate) managed to complete the second stage of the Ovocné Sady project last year, introducing almost five hundred residential units to the Bratislava market. Currently, the developer is focusing on Downtown Yards, which is to create 671 flats and apartments in the centre of the capital city. The group’s offer is also being expanded by Ganz House. Compared to other projects, it is more intimate, with 65 flats. River Park 2 and the project with the working title Triangel 2 are also awaiting the start of construction. We have not yet included Nové Lido in JTRE’s statistics, as the project is awaiting the necessary permits. 1. Cresco Real Estate Flats that received final building approval in 2024: 379Flats that received final building approval in the years 2022 to 2023: 382Flats under construction: 1690Number of flats sold in 2024: 130Ranking position in 2023: 1 Cresco Real Estate has maintained its position as the largest Slovak residential developer for many years. It owes this to Slnečnice development, which is growing in the south of Bratislava’s Petržalka. Last year, 379 residential units were completed in this project. Slnečnice is expected to supply the market with more flats in the coming years as well. The developer has 1,540 residential units under construction there. Apart from Petržalka, Cresco is active in Dúbravka in Bratislava, where it is implementing the Agáty project. It also has Waterside in the River Park neighbourhood and the third phase of Lakeside Park at Kuchajda Lake waiting to be realised. Cresco is also planning to build in Košice, where its Južná Trieda mixed-use development is expected to deliver 310 flats. Offices, retail and industrial space The office market has been in decline for several years. Several projects in this segment have been redrawn as residential. For example, the largest office developer, JTRE, planned 37,000 m2 of offices in its Downtown Yards project, but in the current implementation phase the area is only 5,400 m2. The largest project under construction is Chalupkova Offices by the developer Penta Real Estate. Upon completion, it will become the headquarters of the Penta group. A relatively large office space will be constructed in the new Southbank project, which Penta was able to add to the pipeline for the first time this year, as its environmental impact assessment has begun. There were no major changes in the retail sector and the winner was once again JTRE. However, a new largest-planned project was added, the Ivánska multifunctional centre by the VI GROUP. Its construction is planned for 2028 and it should introduce almost 24,000 m2 of retail and entertainment space to the market. Industrial real estate experienced quite decent growth last year. The five largest developers in this segment delivered more than 120,000 m2 of new space. The vast majority of this was completed by VGP, thanks to which it jumped from last year’s fourth place to its current second place. The winner is once again CTP invest. Peter Jánoš, managing director of P3 Logistic Parks, number three on the market, expects industrial landlords to see a longer decision-making process or stagnation on the part of clients. Developers will be preparing for a gradual market recovery at the turn of 2025 and 2026. This assumption is also confirmed by Jakub Randa from ProLogis, number four on the market: “we are seeing increased activity in the central European markets and we expect the industrial leasing market to have good prospects, especially in the second half of the year. This includes a resumption of growth in the 3PL (third-party logistics) sector, which in Slovakia experienced a slight stagnation last year”.