MIPIM 2019 (24.1 MB)

Investment
• Yield compressions are changing strategies
the housing asset class is becoming
more interesting
• In addition to German buyers, interest
from the Asian region is increasing
• In the first half of 2018 retail dominated
by two large-volume transactions: the
Kika/Leiner portfolio and Mariahilfer
Strasse 47
Union Investment, for example, also acquired
properties in the outskirts of Vienna’s 21st
and 22nd districts. Furthermore, Colognebased
Art-Invest Real Estate contributed five
out of ten components of the "Das Ensemble"
project - a joint venture between Premium
Immobilien AG and the federally-owned ARE
Austrian Real Estate Development - for a special
housing fund of an institutional investor
in the 3rd district of Vienna. "The interest of
German investors in Austrian residential real
estate in particular has risen sharply in recent
years. Last year, residential real estate accounted
for more than half of the German investment
volume in Austria," said Fichtinger.
"New residential construction in Vienna will
continue to provide an attractive investment
product in the coming years, which is why we
Retail
• Area shrinks - sales volume rises: currently
the best sales volume development since
2010
• Online competition leads to new strategies:
“Retailtainment” to make stationary
retailing interesting again
• The Golden U remains the most attractive
location in Vienna’s inner city, Rotenturmstrasse
and Brandstätte are increasingly
in demand
• 30-40 international newcomers enter
the market in 2018
expect institutional investors to continue to
invest heavily in 2019," maintains Fichtinger.
Some experts believe that residential investments
could even overtake the office asset
class in 2019. From a developer's point of view,
it is much easier to sell to investors than to sell
the condominiums individually. Investors are
even willing to invest in apartments that will
take up to three years to complete. A quarter
of the investments flowed into these so-called
"forward purchases" - and more and more often
at a very early stage. In the past, a forward
deal was concluded twelve months before
completion; today, properties are sold two or
even two and a half years earlier. "This would
have been considered impossible three years
ago," explains Fichtinger.
Industry and Logistics
• Industry 4.0 is demanding flexibility and
increased network readiness - also for
properties
• The availability of trained specialists is
also an important issue in Austria
• Online trade is also changing logistics -
the topic of city logistics will present new
challenges for both the private sector and
politics.
However, great demand and high investment
pressure has led to further price increases in
all asset classes. Top yields in the office sector
fell from 3.75 percent to below 3.5 percent in
the course of 2018 and remain strained, with
the result that top yields in the residential sector
(3.25 percent) are already on a par with top
yields in prime commercial properties. In the
retail segment, prime yields remained stable at
around 4 percent for shopping centers and 4.75
percent for specialty shopping centers due to
the lack of sales of top properties. The outlook
for 2019 is also extremely positive. On the one
hand, the first quarter of 2019 is expected to see
the completion of some major transactions that
Offif i ce
• 300,000 square meters of new space in
2018 will bring the highest value in over 10
years
• Letting performance and vacancy rates
increase
• The large supply of first, as well as
second-time occupancy space increases
the pressure on landlords
Housing
• Excess demand leads to price increases,
even in locations that have been less in
demand so far
• Demand remains high in the luxury segment
- but requirements are also uncompromisingly
high
• Barrier-free construction and the singlehousehold
trend are changing layout
planning
have been postponed until this year. On the
other hand, preparations are already underway
for a large number of sales processes for marketable
properties that are well absorbed by the
market due to the investment-friendly capital
market environment and the high demand
from both institutional and private investors.
Yields will continue to fall at least in the first
half of the year, after which a "lateral movement"
is expected. "Despite the many new
properties coming onto the market, we expect
investor demand to far exceed supply in 2019
and that this will continue to be the limiting
factor for volume development.” Pöltl expects
a further increase in investors' involvement in
alternative asset classes, for example, demand
is very high in the area of logistics. "With the
growing online trade, logistics investments are
certainly particularly promising investments
for the future; but above all in this segment,
there are far too few properties on the market
in Austria to even begin to meet demand.” n
MIPIM 2019
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