German commercial real estate investment volumes are expected to double in size this year, reaching as much as EUR 20 bn by the end of 2010, according to Oliver Obert, managing director of BNP Paribas Real Estate Germany. ‘It is going to be the third best year in history after 2006 and 2007,’ Obert said in an interview at EXPO REAL. The figure compares to some EUR 10 bn recorded a year before in the market.
German commercial real estate investment volumes are expected to double in size this year, reaching as much as EUR 20 bn by the end of 2010, according to Oliver Obert, managing director of BNP Paribas Real Estate Germany. ‘It is going to be the third best year in history after 2006 and 2007,’ Obert said in an interview at EXPO REAL. The figure compares to some EUR 10 bn recorded a year before in the market.
In the first three quarters of 2010, the country saw investment volumes rise by 90% to EUR 13.5 bn. Retail properties accounted for the lion’s share of investment, representing 47% of investment activity, while office assets accounted for a further 30% and logistics for the remaining 8%. ‘Foreign investors in particular are very active in the market, accounting for 41% of the total figure,’ Obert added.
In particular, Obert said sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are now looking seriously at investment in the German market as part of their search for higher returns. ‘SWFs from the Middle East, Asia and Northern Europe are emerging as a valid competitor to the German real estate investment funds,’ he said, pointing to the acquisition earlier this year of the Sony Center in Berlin by Korean pension fund NPS.
