The global hotel investment market experienced a strong start to the year with first-quarter transaction volumes reaching $2.8 bn (EUR 2.1 bn), a 53% increase on the $1.8 bn transacted in Q1 2009, according to latest research from Jones Lang LaSalle. Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) remained the most active region recording $1.1 bn of hotel sales, a 46% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase for the same period, while the Americas and Asia Pacific regions recorded Q1 sales worth $991 mln (+70% y-o-y) and $736 mln (+43% y-o-y) respectively.
The global hotel investment market experienced a strong start to the year with first-quarter transaction volumes reaching $2.8 bn (EUR 2.1 bn), a 53% increase on the $1.8 bn transacted in Q1 2009, according to latest research from Jones Lang LaSalle. Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) remained the most active region recording $1.1 bn of hotel sales, a 46% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase for the same period, while the Americas and Asia Pacific regions recorded Q1 sales worth $991 mln (+70% y-o-y) and $736 mln (+43% y-o-y) respectively.
Maintaining the trend from 2009 institutional investors have remained the most prolific investors across EMEA, seeking assets in secure Western European markets with stable incomes, and were responsible for more than a third of buying activity in the region.
Arthur de Haast, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotel’s Global CEO, said: 'With a more positive investor sentiment for hotel real estate assets, transactional activity has accelerated significantly since the start of the year. As the global credit markets have begun to ease there is a greater weight of capital targeting the market for acquisition opportunities. We have also witnessed a noticeable increase in stock being offered to the market with increased sale activity from banks and other lenders who have taken control of more assets over the last year in an attempt to reduce their hotel loan portfolios.'
De Haast believes the healthy signs for transactional activity shown at the start of the year should set the tone for the remainder of 2010. 'While buyers and lenders remain cautious, funding is increasingly available for the right deals and coveted prime assets in key gateway cities are becoming more available driven partly by the sale of individual hotels by the banking industry, but also a better balance between buyer and vendor expectations on pricing.'