German investment volumes hit EUR 17b in Q3: Savills

Some EUR 17 bn of commercial property changed hands in Germany in the first nine months of 2011 following a strong third quarter, according to international real estate advisor Savills.

The broker expects to see a marked growth in investment volumes by the end of the year compared with the 2010 total investment volume of EUR 19.7 bn. The third quarter of 2011 saw the strongest performance of the year so far with a total transaction volume of EUR 6.20 bn.

'The third quarter of 2011 has been very strong and as in preceding quarters the investment market was clearly dominated by retail transactions which accounted for 51% of the total transaction volume,' said Lars-Oliver Breuer, head of Investment Savills Germany.

In the first nine months of the year more than half of total turnover (52%) equating to EUR 8.88 bn, was invested in retail assets. Office investments accounted for 27% (EUR 4.67 bn) and development sites for 5% (EUR 0.83 bn) of the total transaction volume, up 96% and 77% respectively against the first nine months of 2010. Hotel investments as well as industrial and warehouse properties accounted for 4% each, down by 29% and 15% respectively compared to the same period in 2010. In addition EUR 1.54 bn (9%) was invested in mixed-use buildings and special purpose properties.

Single asset transactions accounted for exactly 70% of the total volume in the first three quarters, while portfolio transactions totalled EUR 5.17 bn. German investors accounted for 58% of the market share which marks a slight decrease from the first half of the year. Among the foreign investors North American buyers showed the strongest appetite with a share of just below 15%.