Record first-quarter real estate investments in 2019
The first quarter of 2019 saw record-breaking investment in Dutch real estate, with a total investment volume worth €4.2 billion. The investment volume has never before reached these heights in the first quarter. Significant investment in residential properties was the main driver of this volume. These are the results of market analyses by international real estate advisor CBRE.
Record-breaking residential investment
More than €2.3 billion was invested in residential property in the first three months of this year. This is 158% more than in the same period last year (€890 million), making it the biggest first-quarter investment in homes to date. The single biggest transaction was Heimstaden’s purchase of 9,544 homes from Round Hill for €1.4 billion.
Investment by segment
Total investment in the Dutch real estate market in the first three months of 2019 went up by 16.8% relative to the same period last year. In addition to strong growth in the residential segment, there was also a clear increase in investment in offices in Amsterdam and The Hague, with those cities seeing growth of 118% and 63% respectively. At over €1.04 billion, total office investment volume was stable relative to Q1 2018.
“The big investments in the housing market got 2019 off to a strong start. At the same time, we can also see that the total investment in offices is lagging behind the housing market, largely due to a lack of supply. Based on what is currently in the pipeline, we expect Q2 to be another strong quarter for offices.”
Investment in retail and healthcare real estate was lower in the first quarter in comparison to the same period last year, dropping from 10% to 2%. The total investment volume in the segments Logistics and Hotels fell by 31% and 87% respectively relative to Q1 2018.
Outlook 2019
"We’re still predicting that 2019 will be a great year for real estate investment, although we don’t expect it to equal the record-breaking 2018. That reflects what we are seeing in the economy: the fast growth we’ve seen in recent years is a thing of the past, but the real estate users’ market is fundamentally sound.”
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2019 revenue). The company has more than 100,000 employees (excluding affiliates) and serves real estate investors and occupiers through more than 530 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated 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.