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9 October 2017 – Eje Prime
Demand for logistics space in Madrid is soaring. During the first nine months of the year, 633,000 m2 of logistics space was leased, which represented an increase in demand of 57% with respect to the same period last year, according to data from CBRE. This rise in the volume leased was due not only to an increase in the number of transactions closed but also due to a rise in the number of transactions involving large surface areas.
233,000 m2 of logistics space was leased between July and September this year, of which 173,000 m2 (or 74%) related to the e-commerce sector. The most important operations carried out during the third quarter included the turnkey project in Illescas, with a surface area of 103,000 m2; the Leroy Merlin operation in Meco, spanning 59,814 m2; and the CEVA deal in Seseña, with a total surface area of 12,000 m2. In terms of the prime rent in the local distribution area, it remained at €5.25/m2/month.
In Barcelona, demand also remained very high and the lack of available spaces in the first and second ring alone, where the vacancy rate is just 0.5% and 1.6%, respectively, prevented the volume of new space leased from continuing at record levels, in line with the last two years.
In this sense, 80,000 m2 of logistics space was leased during the third quarter of 2017, down by 29% compared to the previous quarter (112,000 m2). In terms of the cumulative figure for the half year, more than 317,000 m2 of space was leased, 57% less than during the same period in 2016. The most important operation during the quarter was the rental by Naeko of a logistics warehouse with a surface area of 20,000 m2 in La Bisbal del Penedès.
In terms of prices, prime rent continued at €6,50/m2/month in the Catalan capital, although that figure is expected to rise over the next few months, due to the stark lack of available space.
Original story: Eje Prime
Translation: Carmel Drake