The Readers’ Choice Realty Awards 2024, part of the prestigious Real Estate & Construction Forum and Awards Gala, once again highlighted the outstanding achievements in the Romanian real estate sector. Organized by Business Review, this event has a long tradition, now in its 23rd edition, of being “The Voice of Romanian Real Estate”. Over the past two decades, the forum has been a cornerstone in discussing and celebrating the country’s remarkable progress in real estate and construction.

Established in 2022, the Readers’ Choice Realty Awards depart from traditional formats and instead focus on the preferences and opinions of Business Review readers and the social media community. These awards highlight top-performing companies based on their coverage in news articles, stories, analyses, profiles or interviews over the past 12 months.

Ten exceptional companies were honored with the 2024 trophies, celebrating their innovation, sustainability and strategic excellence. Here are this year’s winners:

CPI Romania – Real Estate Portfolio Integration Award This award recognizes CPI Romania for their exceptional success in integrating and managing a diverse and extensive portfolio of office and retail properties, establishing themselves as a dominant player in the Romanian real estate market.

“Thank you very much, Business Review, for this award. It honors us and makes us very proud and extremely happy. It is I who is on stage tonight, but I really think that the entire CPI Romania team should be here and receive this trophy. It is they who have made the achievements of the past year and a half possible. Thank you again, Business Review, for awarding this award which I accept with great humility on behalf of the company, and I dedicate it to our team that manages an impressive portfolio of over 600,000 m2 in both office and retail properties.” said Andreea Cotiga, Head of Leasing Office at CPI Romaniawhen he received the award.

ARQA – Award for luxury residential projects focused on the community Arqa is known for their dedication to creating the most luxurious, community-focused residential project, featuring high-end amenities such as a heated swimming pool, cigar lounge, zen terrace and extensive underground parking.

“It is an honor and a privilege to stand before you. This award represents a team effort, but we must also recognize the business owners who built this team and are intimately involved in every aspect of our business. Thank you so much!” Alexandru Radulescu, Chief Sales Officer at ARQA.

Vastint Romania – Green Innovation in Real Estate Award Vastint Romania receives this award for their groundbreaking project, Timpuri Noi Square Phase II, which is a pioneer in eliminating fossil fuels in construction and setting new standards in renewable energy and green certification goals.

“Thank you very much, it is a great pleasure and honor. This award motivates us to take our developments to the next level. We still have a long way to go, but we are very well prepared and we will make it happen!” Antoniu Panait, General Manager at Vastint Romaniahe said on stage as he accepted the award.

One United Properties – Innovative Housing Concept Award One United Properties receives recognition for the One Verdi Park project, which presents a new and innovative residential concept that combines modern living with luxury and functionality.

“Thank you so much, Business Review. This is a team effort, it’s an honor to be here and we look forward to receiving more awards!” Dan Petrisor, Director of Capital Markets and Transactions at One United Propertieshe told the audience as he accepted the trophy.

Teleperformance Romania – Back to office adjustment price This award is given to Teleperformance Romania for their exceptional ability to quickly adapt to the challenges of returning to the office. They have successfully transitioned more than 1,000 employees from the work-from-home model back to the office. Leonard Crisean, COO at Teleperformance Romaniareceived the award and stated:

“I could start with a slogan from a very famous rapper: “I thank myself for this award!” But I’m not going to do that. First of all, this is dedicated to the team back home that made everything possible. And last but not least, I want to thank all of you here tonight, keep building sustainable structures, bigger and more competitive office buildings so that you can help our companies grow and we can support your development plans!”

Genesis Property – Real Estate Pioneer in Sustainability Award Genesis Property is praised for its unwavering commitment to sustainability and its innovative approach, which sets a benchmark for eco-friendly construction in the real estate industry.

“Thank you very much for this award, it is an honor to receive it. It is a recognition of our joint commitment to a sustainable future. This award is from our sustainability task force in our company and I assure you that tomorrow we will celebrate this trophy with lots of champagne. Thanks to our team, to our visionary leader, Liviu Tudor, who made it all possible, and thanks to Business Review for this initiative. Keep up the good work!” said Marcela Stancu, Community Director at Genesis Property.

Honorary Award – Eco-Community Synergy Award Speedwell receives this award for their Glenwood Estate project, which embodies the perfect synergy between ecology and community, integrating timeless design, sustainability and flexible delivery options.

“Thank you, Business Review! Everything we do at Speedwell is about sustainability, but our team and designers in particular have taken it to the next level. Glenwood Estate has 70,000m² of green space, every villa has solar panels and heat pumps. It really is next-level green living!” said Didier Balcaen, Co-Founder and CEO at Speedwellwhile accepting the award.

Hagag Development Europe – Heritage Restoration and Renewal Award Hagag Development Europe is known for their efforts to preserve, restore and renew the historic monument Stirbei Palace on Calea Victoriei, transforming it into Romania’s luxury shopping destination and enhancing the country’s luxury shopping experience.

“Thank you, Business Review, for recognizing our efforts to bring back to life one of the most emblematic historical monuments in Bucharest. I am absolutely sure that H Stirbei Palace will be one of our flagship projects, and a flagship project for Bucharest, because it represents a new step for the Romanian retail market, as Colin Lovering said in his great presentation: we are going to put Romania on the map of luxury shopping experiences!” Andreea-Maria Ciobanu, Chief Marketing Officer, Hagag Development Europehe said to the crowd as he accepted the trophy.

Iulius – Award for Excellence in Mixed-Use Development Iulius is celebrated for their excellent strategy and execution in developing first-class mixed-use projects. Their visionary approach to integrating residential, commercial and recreational spaces creates vibrant and sustainable communities. The trophy was collected by Marius Persenea, Chief Operating Officer at Iulius GroupHe stated:

“Thank you, Business Review, for the award and for inviting us to this very nice event tonight. This award is very dear to us because it highlights our vision that began almost 15 years ago, when the Group decided that our future core assets would be mixed projects. Looking back in time, sustainability was almost an unknown word 15 years ago and among the different services and applications that we included in our projects were the green areas. The parks have since become the core of our assets. Today we are happy and proud that we had this vision. In the meantime, in our projects all over Romania we received 70 million visitors per year, which proves once again how attractive they are in terms of concept. There are around 35,000 employees working in these projects and around 1,500 companies are active in our mixed projects. All this would not have been possible without the efforts of our entire team, that is why this award is dedicated to the entire Iulius Group!”

InteRo Property Development – ​​​​Innovation Pioneer in Real Estate Award InteRo Property Development is honored to introduce Romania’s first technology-driven real estate showroom concept with Pajurei 3 Residence, revolutionizing the customer experience through immersive 3D virtual reality, next-level luxury customer experience and cutting-edge design. Accepting the award, Alexandra Dumitrescu, Sales Manager at InteRo Propertystated:

“I would like to accept the *Innovation Pioneer in Real Estate Award on behalf of InteRo Property Development and the innovator, Ashton Topolinski. Ashton is unfortunately not in the country, but she sends her appreciation. Today marks one year since we officially opened the Showroom Concept to our clients. We always put our clients first, so Ashton decided to invent a new way to engage with clients during viewings and meetings. InteRo has developed the first innovative, client-centric Showroom Concept in Bucharest. Our clients have first-class viewings with a next-level customer experience – clients go on an immersive technological journey guided by InteRoVerse, our first-in-market 3D virtual apartment tours, a demonstration of our Smart Home Technology and finally clients see our luxury finishes in our Design Center. As sustainability is a core value at InteRo, our luxury Showroom Concept is built with sustainable modular containers that optimize resources and reduce waste. Our Schneider Smart Home Panel, located in our Showroom Concept in Bucharest, Sector 1, shows customers our apartment heating, cooling and automated lighting, installed in all apartments and ready to use upon move-in. We also offer customers advanced security systems, automated irrigation systems and advanced security systems including smart locks, video intercom and 24/7 surveillance. We believe that Romania, the least innovative country in the EU according to the official Innovation Scoreboard, can bring life-changing innovations to the world and specifically to Romania’s real estate development. We truly invest in building high-quality and sustainable projects to raise the standard of living in Bucharest. We welcome customers who are interested in an exclusive luxury lifestyle at Pajurei 3 Residence and deserve a healthy appreciation and return. If you want to know more, come and say hello tonight. Thank you!”

These awards not only celebrated the achievements of the past year, but also set a high standard for future developments in Romanian real estate. Congratulations to all winners for their remarkable contributions to the industry!