These figures were published by the consultancy Savills, which notes that this volume comes to more than double that recorded in the same period of last year, and 30% more than the annual total for 2016. In this period, the yields in the Prime CBD of Madrid and Barcelona continued at 3.25% and 4% respectively..
Larger operations are to be highlighted, those over 100 million euros, as they have significantly boosted investment, with more than a third of the total. In the second week of January, Merlin Properties announced the purchase of the Torre Glòries for 142 millions, which will remain as offices. Spanish Real Estate explain that the second ‘mega operation’ concerned the Boston portfolio, comprising 14 BBVA office buildings, eight in Barcelona, five in Madrid and one in Valencia, acquired by Oaktree and Freo.
The significant presence of assets transacted in the Barcelona market, 20 out of the 35 which changed hands in the first trimester, has considerably elevated their share in the national total, passing from 20% in the first trimester of 2014 to 52% in the first trimester of 2017, beating Madrid for the first time on record. The volume of office investment in Barcelona has reached almost 450 million euros in the first trimester, compared to 40 million in the same period last year.
Focussing on Madrid, the offices market has registered somewhat more than 400 million euros, divided between 12 assets, resulting in an average transaction size of 30 million. The average volume of capital invested in Madrid remains high, 40% above the second biggest market in Spain.
The scarcity of available assets for sale needs to be addressed by the interest in the ‘off market’ market , both on the part of buyers, thus avoiding very competitive processes, which always imply a greater competence, and more aggressive prices, as also on the part of sellers so as not to see their price expectations frustrated.