Some EUR 6.9 bn was transacted in the French commercial real-estate investment market in the first nine months of the year, marking a 41% increase compared to the same time last year.
Some EUR 6.9 bn was transacted in the French commercial real-estate investment market in the first nine months of the year, marking a 41% increase compared to the same time last year.
Cushman & Wakefield said the French market has gained momentum since its low point in 2009 when total annual investment volume did not exceed EUR 7.8 bn.
Whilst offices are still the predominant asset type, they have lost market share. Retail assets now have the advantage, thanks to a wider range of potential buyers, greater available supply and stabilisation of yields.
With a total of EUR 2.4 bn invested so far this year, retail investments have increased more than any other asset class, rising 86% at the end of the third quarter compared to the corresponding period in 2009. Office investments rose 33% and industrial assets by 22%. With EUR 3.9 bn transacted since the beginning of the year, offices only accounted for 58% of market share compared with 67% in 2009.
Recognized as being a particularly safe option, retail assets continue to attract risk-averse investors looking for secure investments. Retail accounted for a record-breaking high of 35% of all property investments in France in the first nine months of 2010. Furthermore, retail continues to gain market share (35% in 2010, compared with 24% in 2009 and an average of 10% between 1999 and 2008). This trend is even more marked in the provinces where retail accounts for 66% of all property investments.
