If in 2019 (Q1-Q3) offices and retail were the major stars of real estate investment in Spain, leading the podium with, respectively, 45% (3.17 billion euros) and 17% (1.20 billion euros) of the total investment, followed by hotels in 3rd position with a share of 12% (827 billion euros), in 2021 the scenario is quite different.
Firstly, there is clearly a greater balance between the amounts allocated to the different asset classes. Attracting 1.9 billion euros (23% of the total), hotels take the lead for the first time, followed by offices (1.71 billion euros, 21% of the total) and logistics (1.61 billion euros, 20% of the total). Retail is off the podium for the first time since Iberian Property started tracking this series, with a share of 17% and 1.36 billion euros invested which, nevertheless, bring it to 4th position on this ranking. Multifamily comes next, in 5th position with a 12% share and 1.03 billion euros invested. Finally, Alternatives come in 6th position, with 636 million euros traded and a share of 8%.
However, alongside these changes in position, we note the exponential growth in the total amounts allocated to Hotels, Multifamily and Logistics between 2019 and 2021, reflecting the importance these assets classes have gained among investors in the wake of the pandemic.
On one hand, the last months have been marked by great momentum in hotel investment. Since tourism was one of the economic sectors most negatively impacted by Covid-19, various institutional and private investors are now capitalising on this opportunity, positioning themselves to, given the better conditions, add to their portfolios assets in this sector that were not even on the market before. The data is clear: the capital allocated to this asset class more than doubled (+142%) in the last year, from 785 million euros until the 3rd quarter of 2020 to 1.9 billion euros at the end of September 2021. Looking back before Covid, the growth in 2021 was 129% compared with the 827 million euros invested until the 3rd quarter of 2019.
The pandemic also seems to have had a positive effect on the investment in Multifamily, which increased 118% between the 3rd quarter of 2019 (472 million euros, 7% of the total) and the 3rd quarter of 2021 (1.03 billion euros). However, the greatest ‘leap’ took place in the last year, with a y-o-y increase of 81% in investment, from 568 million euros (9% of the total) registered at the end of the 3rd quarter of 2020.
Finally, confirming that this is indeed one of the sectors that emerged a ‘winner’ from the Covid-19 crisis, benefitting largely, among other factors, from the boom in e-commerce, the investment in Logistics also continues to rise in the Spanish market. After growing just 10% between the 3rd quarters of 2019 (789 million euros) and 2020 (868 million euros), in 2021 the capital invested in this asset class showed a y-o-y increase of 86%, to 1.61 million euros, in other words, 104% above the performance in the same period two years ago.