The data from Savills, compiled in the European Logistics Outlook report, points towards 22 billion euro invested in Europe up until September. Despite having been a year in which the logistic segment stood out, this amount is «slightly inferior when compared to the same period last year», he revealed.
In Spain, the numbers are in line with the results from last year, being set at 1.125 million euro invested until November.
On these results, Marcus de Minckwitz, investment regional director for EMEA at Savills, highlighted that «2020 has been a very positive year for the logistic market. The segment was already undergoing a remarkable structural change, but Covid-19 accelerated it significantly. All the main indicators point towards a future increase in demand for logistic areas, especially in urban areas, which will stimulate competitiveness amongst developers, operators and investors», he assumed.
The direct consequence of the capital increase within the segment is the price increase, a trend the consultant expects to continue for the next 2 or 3 quarters. «Taking into account the low capital cost, we predict yields below 3% on the best assets within the main markets. It is not just the number of investors interested but also the amount of capital they have to invest. Portfolios, in particular, have been trading well, with premiums between 5% and 20%», insisted Marcus de Minckwitz, who concluded that «when we overcome the next stage of the pandemic and move towards recovery, it is likely for logistic prices to stabilise and different sub-segments to appear on the market. If we look back, this year has reset the entire real estate sector, backed up by its fundamentals and its growth path».
Occupancy reached 21.8 M sqm
The logistic segment in Europe reached an absorption of 21.8 million sqm, 10% more than last year, according to the report. This increase was boosted mainly by the online sales increase, which continues to drive the segment. Under this scenario, prime yields should continue to be adjusted in 2021.
Holland, Poland and the United Kingdom were the countries where contracting increased the most. On this issue, Savills considered that «the logistic demand in the Iberian Peninsula grew remarkably when compared to 2019 due to the increase of e-commerce's penetration rates». Both Spain (+7% y-o-y with more than 971.000 sqm up until October) and Portugal (+35% y-o-y) registered a very solid y-o-y growth.
In terms of availability rates, these remained stable all across Europe at the end of the third quarter of 2020. «We predict a rent increase within the main European markets starting in 2021 since offer seems to be currently limited and with a lack of prime last-mile facilities», revealed Mike Barnes, in charge of European Research at Savills.
