Amsterdam,
09
March
2022
|
16:50
Europe/Amsterdam

Dutch investors pursue the most sincere ESG policy

In contrast to investors in other countries, Dutch investors see environmental protection as the main motive for introducing an ESG strategy. Other European investors think more from the perspective of protecting the future value of real estate.

These are the findings of the European Investor Intentions Survey 2022 conducted by CBRE, the world’s largest real estate consultancy. The survey asked European investors to share their outlook for the forthcoming investment year.

Key Priorities

 The application of ESG policy has increasingly become a priority for European real estate investors in recent years. The CBRE survey looked among other things at investors’ views on the key priorities for implementing ESG strategies. It shows that 75% of Dutch investors rank environmental protection as a top priority, even above preserving the value of real estate (66%). By comparison, 58% of investors in the United Kingdom say they view it as a high priority, while 88% attribute high priority to protecting the future value of real estate. 

Purchasing Selling

As well as questions about ESG strategies, the survey also looked at investment appetite more broadly. The results of the survey point to expected growth in buying and selling activity. The results are in line with CBRE’s Market Outlook report, which previously predicted that the Dutch market would grow by 16% to an investment volume of around €20 billion in 2022.

New record year in Europe 
60% of all investors expect more buying activity in 2022, with the office sector (again) being the most preferred property type among European investors. This can be explained by the combination of an improved outlook for the (post-pandemic) return to the office and positive forecasts for rental growth.

Dutch Investment Climate

Strong interest in Dutch logistics real estate 
Compared to other European investors, it is notable that investors operating in the Dutch market have a strong interest in logistics real estate. The logistics real estate market in the Netherlands is booming; demand for logistics real estate exceeds supply, vacancies are falling and rents are rising. This already resulted in a record investment volume of €5.3 billion last year. Despite the rising prices, interest in the logistics market remains strong, particularly among foreign investors.

The pricing of almost all real estate sectors is expected to pick up compared to 2021. Investors operating in the Dutch market expect higher prices for logistics as well as for residential property and high-quality offices, while the largest price reductions for retail, hotels and offices at secondary locations are now behind us. In addition to these larger real estate sectors, we note that European investors are showing above-average interest in investments in student living, senior housing and other healthcare-related real estate in the Netherlands.

Top 3 cities

 Amsterdam in top three cities for investment  
In addition to London and Paris, Amsterdam is the third European city in which investors are showing above-average investment interest. Amsterdam has accordingly risen from fifth place to third place in this city ranking. The scarcity in the various real estate segments combined with the city’s favourable economic and demographic basis makes Amsterdam an attractive city for continued investment.

Boilerplate

About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2021 revenue). The company has more than 105,000 employees (excluding Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE serves a diverse range of clients with an integrated suite of services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com. We routinely post important information on our website, including corporate and investor presentations and financial information.  We intend to use our website as a means of disclosing material, non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Such disclosures will be included in the Investor Relations section of our website at https://ir.cbre.com.  Accordingly, investors should monitor such portion of our website, in addition to following our press releases, Securities and Exchange Commission filings and public conference calls and webcasts.