Real estate investment in Spain reached €13.1 bn in 9M 2022, up 57% from the same period last year, according to BNP Paribas Real Estate.
Investment volume in Q3 hit a record high of €4.8 bn, with offices and alternative markets being the most active, followed by logistics, retail, hotels and residential.
Activity in the office sector reached €1.2 bn from 23 operations, of which three accounted for 54.5% of total.
They include Inmocaixa’s purchase of Castellana 51 (€238.5 mln); the acquisition of Glovo's HQ in Barcelona (€220 mln); and the sale of BBVA's Bilbao HQ.
Alternative investments brought in €1.17 bn in Q3 (24% of the total), including the sale of 43 student residences in 21 Spanish cities for €900 mln to a Dutch pension fund, while the senior housing segment saw €130 mln in investments.
The performance of the logistics sector was in line with 2021 levels, with a total investment volume of €967 mln from 20 transactions.
Major deals included Prologis’ acquisition of 128 pan-European assets for €1.58 bn, of which Spain accounted for 21% and the sale of two logistics platforms in the Corredor de Henares by DWS to CBRE GI for €90 mln.
Total transactions in retail amounted to €816 mln in Q3, a figure that includes the sale of 380 Banco Santander branches for €297 mln and the purchase by the French fund FREI of the Mediterráneo retail park for €83 mln.
Investments in the hotel sector were €1.77 bn in 9M and €510 mln in Q3, with the purchase of a five-hotel portfolio (1,119 rooms) in Mallorca and Ibiza by Israeli investment group Fattal Group for €165 mln standing out.
Investments in the residential sector totaled €1.88 bn in 9M, the largest amount in the previous two years, and €177 million in Q3, driven primarily by the €100 mln purchase of a BTR project in Badalona with 220 dwellings.
Significantly, 53% of real estate investment volumes in H1 2022 were made by institutional investment funds.
Borja Ortega, CEO of BNP Paribas Real Estate, said: ‘With three months to go before the end of the year, we have already surpassed the previous investment peak recorded in 2019. The high volatility of other variable investments, the high existing capital to invest in real estate and the existing supply in the market, makes us think that in the overall year investment can exceed the €15 bn barrier, as we anticipated at the close of Q1.’
The consultancy estimates that, in the run-up to 2023, there might be an adjustment in investment volumes of around 15-20%, compared to the maximum levels of 2022.
