Strong commercial market sales have helped the German investment market reach a new record.
The news has come just as Consorto has entered a partnership with ImmobilienScout24 Gewerbeflächen – the commercial part of Germany’s leading real estate platform – to search, view and purchase hundreds of commercial properties across Germany.
German investment market sales at €88b
In 2019, German investment sales totalled almost €88billion, a new high, according to international agency, Savills. The figure was up 8% on the year before.
In addition, December investment hit a high of €17.7billion. This is the largest monthly total, says Matthias Pink, head of research in Germany for Savills.
Around half the sales were for offices, with retail on 20% and logistics and also mixed-use both on 10%.
More than half of the sales (56%) came in seven cities –Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and Stuttgart, where investors can purchase in large volumes.
The average investment transaction was €33million, which included some portfolio sales worth more than €1billion and more than 100 single-asset sales over €100million. The increased total was helped by strong rises in commercial property capital values.
The three highest annual gains came in Cologne, up 85%, Munich (79%) and Berlin (45%). The biggest falls were in Hamburg and Stuttgart, which were both down 24%.
In the residential sector sales of over 50 apartments totalled €17.2billion, up 2.6% year-on-year. The number of sales fell 18% during the year, but the average total rose 22% to around €71million, boosted by greater activity by housing associations.
Strong activity set to continue
Mr Pink believes the strong activity will continue, boosted by low interest rates. “From today’s perspective, there is nothing to suggest that the cycle will end this year. In fact, since the zero interest rate environment will be sustained for the foreseeable future, the cycle could continue for many years to come despite the weaker economic outlook.
“For 2020, we once again expect more capital to be available for real estate investments in Germany than can possibly be invested. Consequently, with the exception of the retail sector, we expect further hardening of initial yields and another very high transaction volume.”
Consorto Chief Executive Officer, Philip Verzun, says, “We are excited to be collaborating with ImmobilienScout24 Gewerbeflächen, the number one real estate listing platform in Germany, to help our users and commercial buyers choose from a wider selection of German commercial properties.”
Kristian Reinhold, Head of Business Operations at ImmibilienScout24 Gewerbeflächen, says, ”The digitization of commercial investment is one of the big levers for the upcoming years in the real estate market. Providing access to Commercial Real Estate in Germany for international investors will create growth for all involved parties. Therefore, we are looking forward to cooperate with the great team of Consorto.“
ImmobilienScout24 Gewerbeflächen attracts more than 500.000 visits every month and is constantly looking for new ways to reach buyers.
