Dutch market bottoms out, fuelled by logistics boom: Savills

A booming logistics market fuelled a 34% rise in Q3 transaction volumes in the Netherlands, according to the latest research from Savills.

Total volumes in the office, retail and warehouse sectors reached €850 mln in the third quarter, up 34% on the previous quarter. The rising number of transactions indicates that the Dutch investment market has bottomed out, the adviser said.

The warehousing market, and in particular the logistics market, saw a surge in volumes with investment reaching €320 mln, almost double the €170 mln in the second quarter. The rise reflects three major portfolio deals, involving investors Granite (€129 mln), Syntrus Achmea (€78 mln) and Delin Capital (€80 mln).

The office investment market totalled €365 mln in Q3, similar to the previous quarter but four times higher than in the same period in 2012. While a large number of office investment transactions took place in the value-add and opportunistic market segments, the prime office segment remained strong in terms of investor demand, Savills said. Over the past 18 months four large properties in Amsterdam’s Zuidas (South Axis) district have changed hands and more deals are expected in the coming months.

Savills predicts overall investment volumes in the office, industrial and retail markets - which have reached close to €2 bn in 2013 so far - will exceed the €2.5 bn of 2012.

No immediate improvement is expected in the office occupier market, which continues to be plagued by high vacancy levels averaging around 17% nationwide. Although Amsterdam's Zuidas district has a vacancy rate of about 7%, some secondary locations in the city have vacancy rates up to 28%.