PRESS RELEASE
Hamburg: Investment Market, 1st Half-year 2014
Transaction Volume Up by About 50%
Hamburg, 02 July 2014. The year 2014 began with a modest 1st quarter transaction volume of 575m €, but in the 2nd quarter Hamburg’s investment market rebounded with a total of 875m €. Year on year the result for the 1st half of 2014 is 1.45 bn €, some 50% higher than the 970m € recorded in 2013. “Many of the negotiations started in 2013 were brought to a conclusion in the 2nd quarter and, whereas in the 1st quarter no large-scale investments were completed, five transactions involving over 50m € were registered in the 2nd quarter,” says ChristophRingleben, managing director of Grossmann & Berger, in his summary of the 1st half year.
Focus on Central Sub-Markets City and HafenCity
In terms of location, investors concentrated their activities in the first half of 2014 on properties in the central sub-markets City and HafenCity, which accounted for around 45% of the transaction volume. The biggest transaction to date was the sale of the Karstadt Sport building (Lange Mühren 14, City) for which an international investor paid more than 100m € to SIGNA Holding GmbH. The second-biggest transaction was Blackstone Group’s purchase of the office building called Sumatrakontor (Überseeallee 1-3, HafenCity), likewise for a sum in excess of 100m €. Some 55 % of the total volume of transactions was distributed throughout the rest of Hamburg. The next-biggest sub-markets, which were also the non-central districts with the greatest turnover, were Hamburg East with a share of some 10%, Eppendorf with around 9% and Harburg with about 8%.
Office Blocks Remain Major Asset Class
In the first two quarters of the year, a majority of investors focussed on office properties, helping this asset class to make up 63% of the transaction volume (about 906m €). The largest office property transaction so far this year was the sale of the Sumatrakontor. Retail properties were the second most traded assets. This asset class posted a transaction volume of around 347m € and thus a share of some 24% of the total. The sale of Karstadt Sport fetched the highest price for a property in the retail segment of the market. Hotels and logistics properties followed in third and fourth place, their share of the transaction volume amounting to 7% (around 106m €) and 6% (about 84m €) respectively. Returns on retail and logistics properties remained stable, with premium returns ranging between 4.7% and 7.2%. Due to the unabated and high volume of demand for core segment office properties sited in 1a locations and let on long-term leases, the premium return has fallen by 0.2 percentage points from 4.7% to 4.5%.
Foreign Investors More Active on the Hamburg Market
Although in the 1st half of 2014 the market for commercial investment properties in Hamburg was dominated by national investors, foreign buyers increased their share to 44 %, compared with 15% in 2013. National actors also dominated the selling side of the market. However, international sellers accounted for 36% of the total volume of transactions, compared with 20% in the previous year.
Open-end/Specialist Funds Biggest Buyers
In the 2nd quarter of 2014 the open-end/specialist funds were the biggest single group of buyers, involved in some 24% of the total transaction volume. Asset managers placed second, responsible for around 14% of the volume. Whereas in the 2nd quarter of last yearproject and property developers generated the highest turnover, their share of a good 13% of the volume made them the third-biggest group of buyersin the 2nd quarter of 2014.
Project and Property Developers Most Active Group
In the 1st half of 2014 project and property developers were the greatest sellers of properties, accounting for a share of about 29 % of transactions, while last year’s predominant sellers, open-end funds/specialist funds, moved down into second place with a share of around 28 %.
Positive Outlook for Second Half of Year
“Following a very successful first half year on the investment market in Hamburg, we are expecting the second half year to maintain its momentum in the commercial properties sector. In view of great demand for core products, especially on the part of international buyers, the scarcity of properties in the 1a locations will force investors to turn their attention to non-central districts, which will result in greater investment activity outside the central sub-markets. Overall, we are expecting to see a transaction volume considerably higher than the long-range mean of 2.35bn €”, remarks ChristophRingleben. 4.599 signs
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About Grossmann & Berger
Grossmann & Berger GmbH is one of the leading real estate service companies for the sale and lease of commercial and residential real estate in Northern Germany. With ten offices in Hamburg and further ones in Berlin, on the island of Sylt and in Luneburg the company is present throughout the Northern German market. Thanks to more than 80 years of experience, the company disposes of an extensive real estate competence. Grossmann & Berger is a subsidiary of the HASPA-Group and founder member of the nationwide commercial real estate network German Property Partners. [
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