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Investment in European commercial property up 18% year on year in Q3
The level of investment into European commercial real estate continues to grow with €62 billion invested in the third quarter of 2015, up 18% on the same period in 2014. France experienced the most noteworthy increase with investment activity of over €7 billion, almost double that of the same quarter in 2014, according to figures from CBRE. French investment activity was dominated by domestic investors who accounted for more than 70% of CRE investment in the third quarter, and who typically favoured large offices located in the Paris CBD. Whilst France benefitted from the biggest change in investor sentiment, it was Germany which saw the greatest increase in absolute terms, with quarter three investment of €14 billion, up €5.6 billion on the same quarter last year. The report points out that the €36 billion already invested in German commercial real estate in the first three quarters of this year is 40% higher than the equivalent period in 2014. Alongside France and Germany, several other countries experienced a strong third quarter. Norway and Sweden saw investment volumes grow by 139% and 68% respectively on the third quarter of 2014. Southern Europe also performed well, with Portugal and Italy benefitting from a slight shift in investor focus away from the Spanish market. Belgium attracted near record levels of investment in the third quarter, boosted by several large retail transactions. In Central and Eastern Europe, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary saw the most investment activity. At a city level, the most notable aspect was the move of the Nordics up the table of Europe’s largest CRE investment markets with Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm making the top 10. Typically these Nordic capitals have very high levels of domestic investment, around 70%, with cross-border European investment accounting for around 25% and just 5% of capital coming from outside of Europe. However in the third quarter foreign investment accounted for more than half the total in both Oslo and Copenhagen. London and Paris continue to fill the top two spots in the league table, but interestingly all five of the main German markets make it into the quarter’s top ten for the first time since the first quarter of 2013. ‘We have seen good growth across the European commercial real estate investment market in the last quarter. With high levels of transactions expected in the fourth quarter, this current trend is set to continue and we believe we will see a strong year end in terms of investment volumes,’ said Jonathan Hull, managing director, EMEA Capital Markets at CBRE. ‘Retail recorded the strongest levels of investment growth this quarter up 45% on the third quarter of 2014, the second highest level we have seen in 10 years of data. The office sector also performed well across the region, underscored by some significant transactions in France, the UK, Norway… Continue reading
UK lettings agents report fewer rent rises in October
Fewer tenants are experiencing rent increases in the UK with the number of letting agents reporting rent rises falling to a quarter, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) latest report. This is down from 32% in September meaning that the number of rent hikes in October is the lowest reported this year, the data from the ARLA private rental sector report shows. The data also shows that demand for rental properties dropped in October, alongside supply of available housing, a trend typical of the time of year. ARLA agents registered 33 new tenants on average per branch this month, the lowest amount this year. However, the London rental market bucked this trend. The report found that demand for rental housing in London continued to increase in October with an average of 42 prospective tenants registered per branch, up from 39 in September, an 8% increase. Supply of rental accommodation decreased in line with demand, dropping from 182 properties on average per branch in September, to just 173 in October. However, prospective renters in the East of England and the South West will have better luck finding a property; agents in those regions managed more properties in October than September, with 199 and 184 properties managed respectively. ‘Fewer agents reporting rent increases should bring some relief to tenants before Christmas. It’s definitely a step in the right direction, however a quarter of tenants are unfortunately still seeing hikes,’ said David Cox, ARLA managing director. ‘Although it’s typical that demand dropped at this time of year, as there’s a seasonal lull in the run up to Christmas, we except to pick up again in January,’ he added. Looking ahead to next year, ARLA hopes to see the number of tenants experiencing rent hikes remain low with supply and demand levelling out. ‘However, a lot is resting on the economic and political agenda. We’re still waiting for new houses, promised by the Prime Minister to be built,’ said Cox. ‘Whilst this will take pressure off the rental prices as supply rises, the changes to landlord tax proposed under the Finance Bill is likely to discourage new landlords from entering the market,’ he pointed out. ‘Further, it’s been a waiting game all year to see if Bank of England governor Mark Carney will raise interest rates in the New Year and this will play a big part in determining whether renters looking to buy a home will be able to afford to,’ he explained. ‘And when interest rates do rise, the goal of home ownership will be pushed further out of reach for many and of course put further pressure on the private rental sector,’ he added. Continue reading
New standard format mortgage charge tariff launched in UK
A new tariff of mortgage charges has been launched in the UK that introduces a standard format for how lenders communicate their fees, to make it easier for customers to understand charges and compare deals. Following a campaign by consumer organisation Which? to end the confusion around mortgage costs, the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne asked the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Which? to work together to find ways to make it easier for consumers to understand and compare the costs of different mortgages with different lenders. Since then they have worked jointly to address this problem and believe that the new tariff to help make it easier for people to understand mortgage fees and charges. There are two key improvements within the tariff. Firstly there will be standard terminology. Different lenders will now use the same names for fees, as Which? research previously found consumers find the existing range of names for similar fees too confusing. Secondly it introduces a new common format. Each lender will list fees in the same order, and with the same descriptions, to make it easier to compare between lenders. The new tariff has been tested on consumers, and results show that they found it much easier to understand and compare costs than when they used existing versions. Lenders representing 85% of the market have already committed to introducing this tariff and putting it on their website by the end of the year, and we anticipate that other lenders will also choose to adopt it. Continue reading
