Hines snaps up core living assets in Germany and Sweden

Hines has acquired two major living assets via the Hines European Core Fund (HECF), underscoring its commitment to high-quality housing in key urban markets.

In Berlin, Hines has agreed to forward fund the Marienhöfe residential quarter in Tempelhof, a transformative mixed-use neighbourhood of 85,000sqm across 12 buildings, comprising 880 rental apartments.

Hines said this transaction is its largest residential investment in Germany to date – 25 years after establishing a presence in the market – and showcases HECF’s continued momentum in attracting and deploying capital.

Alfonso Munk, co-head of investment management at Hines, said: “Housing is one of the most attractive sectors for long-term capital today. We believe that as an investor with a strong pipeline of capital to deploy and a developer-owner mindset, we are well-placed to take advantage of current market conditions and make bold, research-backed conviction plays on behalf of our core and core plus investors.”

Munk added that these latest deals “showcase our ability to seek out off-market opportunities via our expert local teams, then deploy at scale on behalf of our investors”. 

“The residential-for-rent sector currently offers the best risk-adjusted returns for core investors and the acute undersupply of new dwellings, which characterise both Berlin and Stockholm, convinced us to bet at scale on those cities, which are currently the top pick in our proprietary research models,” he said.

In Stockholm, Hines has acquired 568 residential-for-rent units in Haninge, Stockholm, through an off-market transaction involving two of its flagship European funds. HECF has acquired three properties containing 346 units, while the firm’s core plus vehicle, Hines European Property Partners, has acquired two neighbouring properties consisting of 222 units.

These transactions bring the firm’s total residential-for-rent units in Stockholm to almost 900 after entering the market in April via a forward funding agreement to deliver 310 apartments in Kista, north of the city, on behalf of HECF.

With these acquisitions, Hines said it is continuing to scale its global living platform, which now represents nearly two-thirds of its global investment pipeline.

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