MIPIM 2022 (21 MB)

Investing in Austria
Secure
Option
Austria
Safe Haven. What makes the Austrian real estate market
attractive to international investors? What hurdles do they
face here? Will the war in the Ukraine trigger a shift in the
investment market? ImmoFokus challenged Anton Cermak
(Beacon Invest), David Moese (Nuveen) and Franz Pöltl
(EHL Investment) with these questions.
The discussion was conducted by: Patrick Baldia
According to the current trend barometer
(Real Estate Investment Market 2022), 93
percent of the market participants consider
the Austrian real estate market attractive
and 52 percent regard it even as very much
so. What makes Austria so interesting,
especially for international investors? ?
David Moese: We have seen in recent decades
that the Austrian market is relatively stable and
that you can earn quite well here. However, you
can't expect double-digit returns, as in Southern
Europe, for example. It's more a matter of
adding stability to the portfolio.
Keyword stable harbour …
David Moese: Exactly. You can also see that
with our investors, who are mainly insurance
companies and pension funds. In accordance
with their investment guidelines, they are
looking for a certain degree of diversification
in Austria.
Franz Pöltl: Stability is undoubtedly the main
driver for real estate investments in Austria.
The Germans, who tick similarly to the
Austrians, are the largest international investor
group in the domestic market, are also not
looking for volatility. An important point for
international investors is definitely legal security.
We Austrians certainly see this somewhat
more critically than external observers. But if
we take, for example, the developments and
legislative initiatives in the housing sector
in Berlin, then Austria is a haven of stability
despite all its minor shortcomings.
Anton Cermak: International investors
certainly appreciate the legal certainty, predictability
as well as the economic stability in
Austria, which we Austrians perhaps perceive
somewhat differently. One can also compare
the Austrian market with an investment-grade
bond.
In some market reports, investors in Austria
are divided into domestic, German
and international groups?
Franz Pöltl: Before the pandemic, some
non-European investors were active in Austria.
Koreans, for example, have also invested
in the building we are sitting in right now
(note: Millennium Tower). But since the
outbreak of the pandemic, investors from
outside Europe have not really been active.
But I have to say that this only applies to the
buyer side. On the seller's side, some people
are currently thinking very carefully about
whether they should part with their property.
We will see how the market develops this
year when the travel restrictions are lifted
and the international public can come to
Vienna again without any problems. Maybe
then the market will become a bit more
"global" again.
David Moese: I also call myself an international
investor because our parent company
is from the US. But I can't think of many
Americans who invest in Austria. The only
one with a larger investment here is Greystar.
We're here because our company offers
a wide selection of products - including
funds that invest across Europe, but also
special funds, like "The Austria Fund No. 2,"
which is aimed at international investors.
Anton Cermak: We were recently looking
for a headquarters for a Canadian company
22 ImmoFokus