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Spain More Popular Among RE Investors Than UK

24/10/2014 – Cinco Dias

Real estate advisor Knight Frank conducted an in-person survey on 200 investors from the sector and it turned out that Spain has been picked most in response to the question where it is worth to invest in the upcoming six months.

For the first time in four years, the United Kingdom has been defeated by another country. Namely, 26% investors voted in favor of Spain, 25% of the UK and 16% of Germany. In the results, France surprises as only 5% would bet on that market.

Speaking of the specific segments, the surveyed decisively chose the office market (35%), followed by the retail, distribution and residential.

Humprehey White, Capital Markets Director at Knight Frank’s branch in Spain, total investment in the local real estate may amount to €3 billion this year, excluding the sector-related debt sales. ‘From no-go, the country became the main focus of investors. Return on the property hit 200 bps higher than in some other cities, having greater margin expansion possibility and prices per square meter of offices, retail and logistics are currently 50%-off in comparison to the 2007 peak’, he pointed out.

The executive of Knight Frank put a special emphasis on the fact that European real estate transactions more and more often see normally uncommon investors, such as American pension funds, Asian sovereign funds or private buyers from the Middle East. On the Spanish market, habitual investor evolves as well. Vulture funds snapping up debt since the second half of 2013 are gradually replaced with purchasers seeking less risk. In his opinion, acquisition of the Castellana 200, the retail and office center situated on the Paseo de la Castellana street in Madrid, by Canadian pension fund PSP, has been the turning point for the trends on the Spanish property market.

 

Original article: Cinco Días (by Alberto Ortín Ramón)

Translation: AURA REE