Amsterdam Outlook 2015: panel tips residential and value-add investment

Residential property in key European markets emerged as the top investment pick during PropertyEU's Outlook 2015 briefing which was held in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

Asked how they would invest a fictional €500 mln with additional leverage, panellists also cited value-add redevelopment projects as a potential investment strategy.

Thomas Beyerle
Managing Director
Catella Property Valuation GmbH, Germany
'I would buy €150 mln of Dutch residential to be converted into luxury high-end accommodation, and spend €100 mln in Warsaw. I would invest the rest of the €500 mln in Germany - Berlin and if you are aware of the risk I could buy some residential for you in Dusseldorf. Germany has an incredible booming residential market and this is set to continue.'

Boris van der Gijp
Director Strategy & Research
Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance, Netherlands
'The panel used to be asked how we would spend €100 mln at investment briefings 18 months ago. Now it's the €500 mln question. The amount of capital - at the briefing and in the market generally - is rising fast and I think the biggest challenge is to find real estate for this equity. I think debt funds are a very attractive alternative - Dutch residential or mortgages offering a yield of about 5% and with a really low risk profile. You can have a seeded portfolio within one year. I would invest about €300 mln in that. I would use the other €200 mln for opportunistic and value-add investment in core cities in Western Europe.'

Marcus Cieleback
Head of Research
Patrizia Immobilien AG, Germany
'I would keep about half the equity for residential and look for opportunities arising in markets such as Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, and possibly also the UK and Germany.
'The other half would be for opportunities in retail in markets such as the Netherlands or food retailers in Germany in the first instance, and a pile would be opportunity-driven investments in the office sector depending on lease lengths and what's available.'

Bart Verhelst
Executive Director, Capital Markets
CBRE, Netherlands
'I would invest €200 mln in residential real estate, mainly in the Dutch cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht as I think those markets are doing very well and will continue to do well in the near future. Another €200 mln would be for value-add opportunities in the office sector or in cities such as Rotterdam and The Hague, where some opportunities in good locations will come to the market next year and to which an investor could add value. Then I would maybe use €50-100 mln for opportunities in the Dutch retail sector next year because we are positive on the sector again for the coming years.'