Popularity of logistics rises in Europe: CBRE

Investors are increasingly warming to the logistics sector as sentiment cools on the retail property sector, according to CBRE's Investor Intentions report published at MIPIM on Wednesday.

The 2013 survey revealed notable shifts in investor preferences between different sectors of the real estate market. As in 2012, offices were the single most preferred sector for purchases, chosen by 29% of investors.

However, there is a marked rise in the popularity of logistics property among investors this year with 20% selecting the sector as the most attractive for purchases compared with 14% in 2012.

By contrast, investors appeared more cautious about retail property this year, with lower proportions of investors selecting shopping centres or retail warehouses as the most attractive sectors compared with the 2012 survey.

European real estate investors are also becoming more willing to consider good quality secondary and value-add assets as they prepare to increase their spending this year, the report found.

The annual Investor Intentions report tracked what CBRE described as significant evidence of improving sentiment both in terms of investment activity and the range of assets that investors will consider.

Some 71% of survey respondents said they expected to be net investors with purchases exceeding sales. This is a stronger picture than last year when 61% of respondents indicated they would be net investors.

A majority (58%) of respondents said they expected their purchases in 2013 to be higher than in 2012. This compares with 45% giving the same answer last year. Within this, 30% of investors expect to be spending over 20% more on investment purchases in 2013 than they did in 2012. The proportion of investors intending to spend less this year than in 2012 dropped to just 6%; the comparable figure in the 2012 survey was 18%.

A majority (53%) of respondents selected prime/core properties as most attractive, a higher proportion than in 2012.

However, there were larger increases in the proportion of investors indicating that ‘good secondary’ and ‘opportunistic/value-add’ assets were most attractive, in both cases rising to over 40%. The proportion favouring distressed assets was virtually unchanged at 22%.

A total of 362 respondents completed the survey - the study’s largest response to date. Just under half (48%) were classified as fund or asset managers; a further 8% were pension funds and insurance companies