Tag: secondary markets

Savills: Logistics Investment in Spain to Grow by 40% in 2018

20 November 2018 – Expansión

Real estate investment in the logistics market is on the verge of breaking a new record. According to data from the consultancy firm Savills Aguirre Newman, investment in the segment is going to exceed €1.2 billion in 2018, which will represent growth of 40% compared to the €854 million registered last year.

During the first nine months of this year alone, investment exceeded €875 million, without taking into account any corporate operations, which represents a 3% increase with respect to the total volume recorded during the whole of 2017.

“The intense level of activity at the national level in the market for land, by both funds and by end users, is going to continue until the end of the year”, explained sources at Savills Aguirre Newman.

In this sense, although the most sought-after product in the investment market is still the highest-quality and best-positioned warehouses, investors are also analysing spaces with the potential to be transformed and the capacity to offer higher returns.

Product shortage

Sources at the consultancy firm explain that, in light of the shortage of products in Madrid and Barcelona, the secondary markets have become a focus of attention for investors. Similarly, the scarcity in terms of finished products has reactivated interest in the market for land.

In terms of the volume of space leased, 1,127,000 m2 was snapped up in the markets in Madrid and Barcelona to September, which represents an increase of 22% with respect to the same period in 2017.

Original story: Expansión (by R.A.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Experts: Foreign Investors will Continue to Back the Spanish RE Sector in 2018

11 January 2018 – Expansión

The experts believe that the residential sector is going to be the main protagonist of 2018, in terms of both development and investment. The banks are expected to continue their balance sheet clean-ups with more portfolio sales.

The real estate sector is expected to continue to constitute a mainstay of the Spanish economy in 2018 thanks to the growth of residential property development and the commitment from international investors to Spanish property as a safe haven for their investments, according to the experts consulted by Expansión.

For Adolfo Ramírez-Escudero, President of CBRE España, property developers will be some of the most dynamic investors in 2018. “Last year, they underwent an expansionary cycle and, through specialisation and the sophistication of their product, they will continue to increase their prominence in the sector”, he explains.

The CEO of JLL España, Enrique Losantos, forecasts that 2018 will maintain the positive rhythm of recent years and that figures will remain in line with 2017, with a total investment volume of around €13 billion. Losantos also expects that portfolio operations, which were the major stars of 2017, thanks to the sale of assets by Banco Popular and BBVA, will continue to strengthen their position in 2018 (…).

Rents

For Santiago Aguirre, President of the Board of Directors of Savills Aguirre Newman, “we are entering a year of consolidation in terms of the upward cycle that we have been immersed in since 2014. Several segments, such as offices and logistics, have reached maximum leasing levels, nevertheless, we still see potential for rents to reach the maximum levels seen in the previous cycle”.

In terms of investment in tertiary assets, Oriol Barrachina, CEO at Cushman & Wakefield, explains that there is a perception that there will be more liquidity than product, despite caution being erred in light of the local and international uncertainty. “The main difference with respect to the last two years is that one group of buyers, the Socimis, are now also going to be selling assets. For years, they have purchased lots of assets and after generating value from them, they are going to put them up for sale, a fact that will also help to bridge the gap between supply and demand”, adds Barrachina.

Sandra Daza, Director General at Gesvalt, thinks that this year those investors who entered the cycle during the opportunistic period, between 2013 and 2015, will be replaced by long-term investors, such as insurance companies and pension funds.

In terms of trends, Mikel Echavarren, CEO at Irea, considers that residential development will continue to generate news this year, both in terms of land transactions, as well as price rises and the recovery of secondary markets (…).

Humphrey White, Director General at Knight Frank, highlights that Spain is currently at the beginning of an expansion period, with forecast demand of between 120,000 and 150,000 new homes per year, even though it closed 2017 with just 47,500 new home transactions (…).

No sign of a bubble

White considers that the growth in the sector in Spain rests on “some very firm foundations in terms of the law of supply and demand, whereby moving firmly away from a possible real estate bubble”.

For Gonzalo Gallego, Partner in Financial Advisory at Deloitte, buildable land will be one of the major challenges in the property development sector.

In terms of the rental market, Ramírez-Escudero explains that in 2018, we will see “quite a lot” of activity in the market from institutional investors backing rental homes. Over the last decade, the number of rental homes has increased significantly to reach 22.5%. Nevertheless, Spain still has major potential given that the average in the EU is 33% (…).

Javier López-Torres, Partner in Real Estate at KPMG, agrees. He considers that the rental segment will continue to gain weight due to the difficulties involved in accessing credit, mobility and cultural change (…).

Asset types

By sector, Thierry Bougeard, Director General at BNP Paribas Real Estate, says that demand for office space will continue its strong performance (seen in 2017), above all in Madrid, where leasing volumes are expected to increase to around 600,000 m2.

Meanwhile, in the logistics market, e-commerce will continue to be the main motor of demand, whilst in retail, many owners are betting on improving the quality of their centres, boosting leisure areas and the quality of them, with the aim of encouraging customers to stay longer, he explains.

The experts also agree in highlighting the high level of interest expected in alternative real estate assets, such as student halls and nursing homes.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Inv’t In Industrial & Logistics Land In Valencia Already Exceeds 2016 Total

30 October 2017 – El Economista

Demand for industrial and logistics land is growing fast in the province of Valencia. Sale and purchase operations involving this type of land have already exceeded the total volume of space (in square metres) sold during 2016 as a whole, by 30% at least, when operations spanning 585,000 m2 of space were signed – 130% more than during the previous year.

Information from specialist consultants and other data provided by public managers indicates that more than 750,000 m2 of land has been acquired, with a significant percentage of the operations being closed in Ribaroja, Cheste and Sagunto –almost half of the square metres purchased are located in Parc Sagunt, which has experienced a boom since the arrival, in December, of Mercadona, which plans to construct its largest logistics platform there (…).

This increase in demand comes in response to a combination of factors, including: the consolidation of the economic recovery, supported both by internal demand and the export of products and services, which has boosted projects to expand production capacity and storage by industrial groups; the positive outlook for the next few years; improvements in terms of the access to and conditions of financing; projects to improve the communications network – above all, the railways; the growing interest from investors – corporate and institutional, in particular – looking for options to generate higher returns than those found in the financial and securities markets; and the growing demand for modern, high-quality, large assets, in good locations, which have been underserved in recent years due to the total stoppage of new development projects in this field, as a result of the economic crisis (…).

Aguirre Newman adds another element that has benefitted the Valencian market: “The shortage of supply in the main markets in Spain – Madrid and Barcelona – has boosted interest in secondary markets, in particular, in Zaragoza, Valencia and Sevilla”. And this trend could be reinforced in the coming months due to the instability in Cataluña, which is leading to the departure of companies and the suspension of investments.

This confluence of factors has contributed to an increase in the presence of investment funds, Socimis and specialist property developers as the main players participating in sale and purchase operations, above all in the last year and a half (…).

In terms of rental prices, in the prime areas of Valencia, maximums amount to €4.25/m2/month in the Centre Axis of Ribaroja, whilst in the Southern Axis (…), rents have stabilised at €4/m2/month.

In terms of the profitability of logistics rental spaces, whilst in Madrid and Barcelona, yields amount to between 5% and 6%, in the areas with the highest demand in the Community of Madrid, they range between 7% and 9%, according to the consultants (…).

Meanwhile, the Port Authority of Valencia (APV) expects that the Logistics Activity Area (ZAL) will become operational during the first half of 2018, after two decades of delays (…).

Original story: El Economista (by Olivia Fontanillo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aguirre Newman: Inv’t In Logistics Sector Amounted To €230M In Q1

10 May 2017 – Aguirre Newman

According to the Q1 Logistics Market Monitor Report for Madrid and Barcelona compiled by Aguirre Newman, the volume of investment in the logistics market amounted to €230 million during the first quarter of 2017, compared with €135 million in the same period in 2016, which represents an increase of 70.4%.

The leasing of logistics space in Madrid and Barcelona amounted to 251,866 m2, involving 29 operations, with a maximum rent of €6/m2/month during the quarter.

Madrid 

In Madrid, demand for logistics space exceeded 127,703 m2, which meant that the amount contracted in Q1 2017 represented 31.5% of the total amount leased in 2016.

The higher volume of activity was also reflected in the number of operations, which was 56% higher than in Q1 2016 (9 operations vs. 16). Of the 16 operations closed in Q1 2017, three accounted for 57% of the total space leased, with a surface area of more than 10,000 m2 each.

With respect to rental income, the maximum rent was €6/m2/month, in an operation in the CTM in Madrid. Besides that one-off operation, rents in the prime area remained in the region of €5/m2/month to €5.5/m2/month.

According to the report from Aguirre Newman, regarding the investment market, there is still a considerable amount of interest in the logistics market, with operations closed in the main logistics markets (Madrid and Cataluña) as well as in other secondary markets, such as Pamplona, during the quarter. In terms of yields, they amount to just under 6% for certain prime assets.

Barcelona 

Meanwhile, in Barcelona, the leasing of logistics space during the first quarter exceeded 124,163 m2, which represented an increase of 40% compared to the same period in 2016. The number of operations closed during the period rose to 13, of which three stood out for involving spaces larger than 10,000 m2 and for together accounting for 68% of the total space leased.

Aguirre Newman’s report highlights that the logistics investment market in Barcelona and its area of influence is still very attractive for investors.

Original story: Aguirre Newman

Translation: Carmel Drake

Madrid: Third Favourite Investment Market In Europe

12 February 2015 – Expansión

PwC Report / The Spanish capital is the third favourite investment market after Berlin and Dublin. The commitments made by George Soros and Dalian Wanda are generating the “pull effect” (in 2015).

The financial investor George Soros, the giant Chinese corporate Dalian Wanda and the new fund manager Tiaa Henderson all have something in common: they have all invested in the Spanish real estate sector in recent months. This activity has not gone unnoticed by other investors, since not only has real estate investment in Spain returned to figures not seen since the boom years (2007), but also the phenomenon is also expected to continue in 2015.

According to the ‘Trends in the European Real Estate Market 2015’ report, prepared by PwC, Madrid is the third favourite destination for investors at the European level, behind Berlin and Dublin. “There is a mixture of 28 cities in this ranking: classic investment destinations such as Berlin and Munich, capitals that are in recovery, such as Athens – the survey was conducted in November before the Greek elections – and Dublin”, explains Rafael Pérez Guerra, the partner responsible for the real estate sector at PwC.

Of the 28 cities studied, only those in Russia have limited prospects for investment growth, even though 61% of respondents believe that the good assets (known as “the core” in the sector) are overvalued in virtually all of the European markets.

This boom has led many investors to seek out new markets. “Another important area of interest are the secondary cities, such as Birmingham, which is ranked in sixth place, above London and Munich. Investors have started to take on more risk because profitability in the large markets is scarce; as a result they are exploring secondary sites”, he adds.

Spain

The change in the Spanish real estate sector is reflected in the rise (up the ranking) of its main markets as investment destinations: Madrid has risen from 19th place to third and Barcelona from 22nd to 13th, according to PwC’s report.

“There is a very high level of interest and activity in Spain. It is not that the market is not over-heating, but rather that the dynamics of the sector are changing, with an imbalance between a scarcity of good deals in prime areas and significant demand from opportunists who remain in the market and more stable investors who are arriving”, says Enrique Used, the partner responsible for transactions in the real estate sector at PwC.

This commitment to the Spanish market will continue in 2015, according to the survey respondents, and will not be limited to the large markets. “International capital has moved towards Spain, en masse. Prices have risen considerably in Madrid, which suggests that the investors that are looking for the highest returns, should set their sights on the secondary markets in Spain during 2015 to obtain higher returns.

Although the 500 people surveyed by PwC see a clear recovery in investment in Spain, they still believe that the market for the construction of new homes should improve; Madrid and Barcelona are ranked only 14th and 23rd, respectively, although that represents an improvement with respect to 2013 when they were ranked 21st and 25th.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake