The volume of industrial and logistics investment grew by 58%, reaching an annual record high of 1,050 million euros (compared to 662 the previous financial year). The consultancy expects this growth to continue in 2017.
Madrid and Barcelona lead most of the transactions, with a gross annual take up of over a million square metres between the two markets and their spheres of influence.
Also, the report points out that demand has remained high in Spain. After an excellent 2015 and 2016, the Spanish market is returning to the average levels of activity which existed before the crisis. Gradually opportunities for available logistics assets become fewer, and this has led to the development of new logistics parks, mostly involving risk, but also ‘key in hand’ projects for developers.
According to Jean Bernard Gaudín, National Director for Industrial and Logistics at BNP Paribas Real Estate, “2016 has been a transition year, but it is expected that 2017 will end with projects with greater impact. Today there are urban spaces where construction can take place straightaway, but the moment will arrive when we find ourselves with a lack of supply and a delay of 3-5 years before urban land is available. Since the 2007 crisis few have dared to build. E-commerce is making its mark on logistics real estate development, which could mean favourable outcomes for the future of this sector