14 January 2019 – Savills Aguirre Newman
The logistics market in Madrid has registered a new leasing record. The boost from e-commerce has been the main driver behind the absorption of 935,000 m2 of space in 2018, which represents an increase of 2% with respect to the historical record figure in 2017, according to data from Savills Aguirre Newman.
During the last quarter, 23 operations were signed involving more than 300,000 m2 of space, compared with 24 operations and 308,000 m2 of space during the same period in 2017. During the year as a whole, 77 operations were registered in 2018, compared with 70 during the previous year. It is worth highlighting the importance of the cross-docking activity during 2018, where seven operations were closed.
In terms of rental prices, the €8/m2/month peak that established the annual maximum was recorded at T4 (Airport) in Barajas. Excluding that figure, due to the uniqueness of the Barajas market, maximum rents exceeded €6/m2/month in a cross-docking operation in San Fernando de Henares. The incorporation of new high-quality projects that are adapted to the requirements and expectations of the operators have favoured an increase in prime rents to €5.5/m2/month (+7% YoY).
In terms of the size of the operations, almost 50% of the space leased during the last quarter of the year was concentrated into four operations spanning more than 30,000 m2 each, all of which were signed in the third ring.
By area, the distribution of the surface area leased between October and December was very homogeneous, with 55% and 45% registered in the Corredor del Henares and the southern area, respectively, although the Corredor del Henares continued to capture the most demand. The distribution in terms of the number of operations clearly showed the superiority of Corredor del Henares, which accounted for 70% of all activity (16 operations).
The annual analysis by area reveals a similar picture. The volume of surface area leased was very similar (>495,000 m2 in Corredor del Henares and >408,000 m2 in the southern area), but by number of operations, Corredor del Henares again accounted for the bulk of activity (48 operations versus 22 in the south).
Activity in the land market is continuing to gain weight. During 2018, 34 operations were signed in total spanning 1,800,000 m2 (+60% YoY). It is worth highlighting the three areas that accounted for almost 50% of the land surface area operations: Guadalajara (>350,000 m² in 2 operations), Illescas (>326,000 m² in 4 operations) and Torija (>279,000 m² in 4 operations).
The year closed with an availability rate of 6.9%, which represents a decrease of almost two points with respect to 2017. During 2018, more than 650,000 m2 of space was incorporated into the market, of which 67% was already committed. The future supply for 2019 will exceed 1,500,000 m2, of which 30% already have pre-rental contracts.
The dynamism in the market for users of the logistics sector during 2018 has been reflected in the investment market, with 45 operations exceeding €1.3 billion. Those figures mark new records in the historical ranking. The number of transactions involving individual assets stood out since it exceeded the figure recorded in 2017 by three times.
Original story: Savills Aguirre Newman
Translation: Carmel Drake
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