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CBRE: Madrid Is 6th Most Attractive City For RE Investment

19 May 2015 – Expansión

Madrid is the sixth most attractive city in the world for real estate investors, behind London, Tokyo, San Francisco, Sydney and New York, according to the Global Investors Intentions Survey, compiled by the real estate consultancy CBRE, based on responses from 700 international investors.

Thus, the Spanish capital is more attractive that most other major cities, including Paris and Los Angeles, thanks to a 98% increase in the volume of real estate investment in 2014 with respect to the previous year; the second highest increase after San Francisco, which rose by 126%.

The study notes that optimism has returned to the international investment market thanks to improvements in the economic outlook and in confidence, although it underlines the intense competition that exists when it comes to acquiring assets and the doubts that still exist about the weakness of the economy.

Thus, 53% of international investors expect to increase their exposure to the real estate sector.

Moreover, it seems that demand exceeds supply and that there is significant interest in trans-regional transactions, with Western Europe being the most favoured region, followed by Asia Pacific.

By sector, offices are the assets of choice for 33% of investors, whilst retail sales have experienced the largest decrease.

It also notes the increased interest in logistics warehouses, up from 14% last year to 17% in 2015.

The acquisition of real estate debt is another option that investors are seeking, as well as student accommodation (halls of residence), assets relating to the health sector and retirement homes.

International investors seem to be willing to take on increasingly more risk, in search of higher returns. 51% of those surveyed said that this year they will focus on opportunistic and value added assets, whereas last year only 43% were interested in such assets.

This increase has been observed above all in the United States and in the regions of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. By contrast, there seems to be greater interest in prime assets in Asia-Pacific.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake