Transaction volume totals approx. €5.53bn - retail properties dominate

Approximately €5.53bn of commercial property changed hands in Germany in Q1 2011 according to international real estate advisor Savills.  Retail transactions accounted for 55% of the total transaction volume and 65% of total portfolio transactions, but the firm highlights that the two major deals in Q1 were both in the retail sector each with a transaction volume of €700m.  These deals were Cerberus’ purchase of 44 cash and carry properties and a logistics centre from Metro and the Canadian pension fund CPP Investment Board’s acquisition of a 50% stake in CentrO Oberhausen.

Apart from these two major deals Savills reports that a further eight transactions totalling over €100m were completed in Q1 2011. Amongst these transactions were the sale of the BrahmsQuartier office buildings in Hamburg and Friedrich Carré in Berlin which contributed significantly to the 20% share (€1.09bn) of the office sector in the total transaction volume. Industrial and warehouse properties accounted for 6% (€0.34bn) and development sites and hotel investments each accounted for 5% (€0.29bn) of the total transaction volume. In addition almost €460m (9%) were invested in mixed-use buildings and special-purpose properties.

Lars-Oliver Breuer, head of investment Savills Germany, says: “The strong performance of the investment market was clearly dominated by transactions involving retail properties, particularly by the sale of the Metro portfolio and the CentrO in Oberhausen.

“During 2011 we expect the total investment volume to exceed the 2010 total of €19.7bn, possibly reaching €20bn.  The lack of supply will be a limiting factor, primarily in the core sector where there is most demand.”

Overall there were 250 single asset transactions worth approximately €3.78bn in Q1 2011 according to Savills data, while 30 portfolio transactions totalled approximately €1.75bn.
 
Broken down into Germany’s five major investment markets the firm’s research shows that Berlin came out on top with a 10% share of the total transaction volume, followed closely by Hamburg at 9% and Munich, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt each accounted for between four and one percent. Thus 73% of transactions in the first quarter of 2011 took place outside the top five markets including in Neuss, near Düsseldorf, Neufahrn Schöneberg, close to Berlin, and Gräfelfing, in the Munich area.