Investment in the real estate sector in Spain, excluding purchases of land or buildings acquired for own use, was around 1.600 million euros in the first quarter of the year. This is 60% less than in the same period of 2020, when the record figure of almost 4,000 million euros was registered, according to provisional data from CBRE.
«As in much of the European countries, the maintenance of activity and mobility restrictions in the first weeks of 2021, together with the slow progress of vaccination campaigns, is delaying the revival of the economy, at the expense of the spending and tourism», says Lola Martínez Brioso, director of the Research department at CBRE Spain.
According to the consultant, in the last 12 months, the investment volume has reached 7.200 million euros, 50% less than in the same period of the previous year, although they are figures that double and almost triple those reached in the start of all the years between 2010 and 2013.
By sectors, the multifamily surpassed more than 736 million euros invested in the first quarter. This is 42% less than in the first three months of 2020, when the joint venture between Brookfield and Temprano was recorded. The investment in BTR concentrated 369 million euros (11% above the first quarter of 2020).
On the other hand, investment in retail during the first three months of the year was around 75 million euros, below the first quarter of 2020, «which was an extraordinary period due to large operations in shopping centers that took place in 2019 ( as Intu Asturias)», adds Martínez. According to CBRE data, the highest activity continues to be registered in the supermarket sector. In this way, the operation of Grupo Lar's supermarket portfolio sold to Blackbrook Capital for 59 million euros highlighted.
With 280 million euros invested in the first quarter of 2021, the office sector is another one that shows the greatest differences in terms of year-on-year comparison, although it has also registered a lower volume than the two previous quarters. Compared to the 20 transactions in the first quarter of 2020, eight have been registered in the same period of 2021.
Investment in the logistics sector stands at 150 million euros
In the logistics-industrial sector, the volume of investment in the first quarter was around 150 million euros, a modest figure pending the closing of large operations in the coming months. «The appetite on the part of investors for the logistics sector is still very high, also in local logistics warehouses or last mile, although there is a lack of quality product built and rented in all the important logistics centers of the country», points out Martínez.
In the first quarter of 2021, investment in hotels reached 273 million euros, a figure slightly higher than the volume transacted in the same period of 2020. Among the most relevant operations, the purchase of the Hotel Edition stands out in Madrid for 205 million euros by an investment vehicle participated by the Singapore fund GIC and the Dutch APG.
Regarding cross-border investment, by origin of capital, Germany stands out, which is placed in first place in the ranking (analyzing the operations closed since the beginning of the pandemic) and unseating the United States, a country that led by far over the rest investment in profitability in Spain in the pre-covid period.
