In the midst of political change - fuelled by the US presidential elections, the Brexit vote, elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands – accelerating tech innovation and a growing global urban population, MIPIM chose The New Deal for Real Estate as its central theme, providing industry leaders and investors with the opportunity to discuss evolving real estate strategies.
According to Cushman & Wakefield, the amount of new capital available for global real estate investments stands at $435 billion – lower than in 2016 but still the second highest figure recorded since 2009.
Cushman & Wakefield identified the United States as the leading target for investors, followed by China and the United Kingdom. Real Capital Analytics reported that in 2016, some €30.15 billion of Asian capital headed to the US which invested some €14.4 billion in Asian real estate markets.
At the annual MIPIM RE-Invest Summit, bringing together some 60 representatives from the world’s leading institutional investment funds, two thirds of participants said they would be net buyers in 2017. Combined, the RE-Invest delegates manage over $600 billion in real estate assets.
What was clear at MIPIM this week was that the British government, spearheaded by the Department of International Trade (DIT), in partnership with the British Property Federation, was sparing no effort to reassure investors that Britain’s real estate sector remains a key destination for property investment.
For the first time in the history of MIPIM, the UK government was represented with its own pavilion and Britain’s ‘Invest in Great’ marketing slogan was highly visible. And at 960, the number of UK exhibiting companies and cities increased by 24% compared to 2016.
Mega-infrastructure projects were to be found throughout the MIPIM exhibition halls and pavilions. Istanbul Grand Airport promoted its gigantic Airport City Istanbul as a sustainable project that could serve as a model for other airport cities around the world. The airport on its own is costing around €7 billion. The Stuttgart 21 project provides underground and surface links to the city’s airport and trade-fair site and is budgeted at €6.5 billion. In Amsterdam, the first metro line to cross the Lj river is due to open in 2018 at a cost of €3 billion. Meanwhile work continues on the €30 billion Paris: Grand Paris Express which is due to be completed in 2030. Finally, London’s €17 billion Crossrail link between east and west London is heading for phased introduction by 2020.
With 5,000 investors and financial institutions in Cannes, MIPIM welcomed a growing number of institutional investors. Among them, over 60 pension and insurance funds and 15 sovereign wealth funds, including ADIA, QIA, GIC, Gingko Tree, KIC, Temasek, KIA, KWAP, Hanwha Life.
An armada of leading politicians descended on MIPIM in support of city, regional and national real estate projects. Among the senior politicians attending MIPIM, France’s Minister of Housing and Sustainable Habitat Emmanuelle Cosse was joined by Former French Prime Minister and Mayor of Bordeaux Alain Juppé, Gavin Barwell, Britain’s Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Russia’s Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities, Mikhail Men and Turkey’s Minister of Environment and Urban Planning Mehmet Ozhaseki.
“In addition to the core real estate business which is conducted at MIPIM, the event brings urban and political leaders together to support their domestic property industry and discuss some of the major challenges facing a world where 60% of the population will soon be living in cities,” commented newly appointed Director of MIPIM, Ronan Vaspart.
The international scope of MIPIM meant that a plethora of major real estate projects were on show from around the world. “The diversity of projects presented at MIPIM from all around the world is breathtaking,” said Filippo Rean, Director of Reed MIDEM’s Real Estate Division. “Whether in office developments, retail, logistics, hotel and tourism or residential, the opportunities for investors to strengthen or diversify their portfolios are huge.”
Five years after introducing tech innovation as a part of MIPIM, the MIPIM Innovation Forum moved to the centre of the exhibition hall to host 70 exhibitors across 1,500m². And investment in real estate-related technology was the subject of lengthy discussions as institutional investors sat together at this year’s RE-Invest Summit.
Tech companies competing in the MIPIM Startup Competition demonstrated the wide range of ways the tech industry is moving into real estate. New York’s Envelope won the ‘Cities’ category with its 3D urban map-based software allowing real estate companies to visualise, analyse and run scenarios on development potential under zoning constraints. In the ‘Transaction’ category, London-based Storefront took top prize. Storefront reports to be the world’s largest specialist in short-term retail for pop-up stores, shopping malls and showrooms. Final winner of the Startup Competition was Ravti in the ‘Building’ category. The US company produces software that tracks, manages and procures heating, ventilation and air-conditioning for CRE owners and operators.
“When tech elements were introduced to MIPIM some people were slightly bemused. Today, crowdfunding, big data, virtual reality, the internet of things, smart cities and smart buildings are part of the world of real estate. The growing influence of tech companies on the property sector has encouraged Reed MIDEM to launch the MIPIM PropTech Summit in New York on October 11, 2017, in partnership with MetaProp NYC,” said MIPIM Director Ronan Vaspart.
Upcoming MIPIM events include MIPIM PropTech Summit in New York, October 11, 2017; MIPIM UK in London’s Olympia, October 18-19, 2017 and the MIPIM Asia Summit in Hong Kong, 28-29 November, 2017.
MIPIM 2018 will take place on 13-16 March in Cannes.
Source:MIPIM