In an increasingly connected world, and in an increasingly globalized market, more than countries, big investors are developing today their capital allocation strategies with a focus on cities and macro-regions. "The great Asian and North American players do not look at Spain or Portugal individually or as an isolated national territory, but rather for their cities and for these territories as an integral part of a wider region, Iberia”, defends that responsible. A common idea for Mikel Marco-Gardoqui, Head of Capital Markets of CBRE España, for whom real estate investment is developing today "as a market essentially of cities and not of countries" and with "Madrid, Lisbon and Barcelona as the main Iberians axes”. And Carlos Lobo has no doubts that "this logic of having a market of cities and not of countries, is something that will become more and more accentuated in the future".
This was, in fact, one of the great trends presented last week in what was the last lunch-conference of Vida Imobiliária in 2017, dedicated to "Real Estate Investment in Europe and Portugal: Trends and Evolution", a theme that was brought to the stage by these two experts.
Good winds from Spain bring lessons for the sector
Mikel Marco-Gardoqui, Head of Capital Markets at CBRE España, was the first to go on stage, drawing a general picture of how the real estate investment market has radically changed in Spain over the last decade. "There are some things that have happened in Spain that we believe may be repeated in Portugal," he began by saying.
This is the case, for example, of Socimis - real estate investment companies, inspired by the model of REITs that in recent years have soared the capitalization of the Spanish market - which were a key tool for attracting numerous large foreign investors to the country. "Despite this success, it is important to know that there have already been several attempts in Spain to create and implement a model of REITs in Spain, but the success formula did not appeared soon", said the CBRE manager, drawing a parallel with what is happening now in Portugal, where the creation of a regime similar to REITs continues to be one of the sector's claims. "But now, a couple of years after its entry into service, its effect is visible and the numbers speak for themselves: €12,000 million in market value. Not to mention that its effect goes beyond the Spanish border, and is beneficial to the entire Iberian market,” he says, exemplifying with the case of Merlin that, being one of the largest Spanish socimis, is also a benchmark investor in Portugal, and aims to "continue to gain visibility at the Iberian level".
Bringing together more than hundred people at the Intercontinental Lisboa Hotel, the event was organized by Vida Imobiliária with the support of ULI - Urban Land Institute, and was sponsored by Grupo SIL, CBRE, EY, Schmitt Sohn Elevadores and Uria Menendez Proença de Carvalho.