International Real Estate
Competition for Parque Arauco Office Towers Shows Confidence in Chilean Economy
May 4th
Interesting investment news came out of Chile last week. It is not related to the earthquake and the physical damage occasioned on that industrious people; it shows the strong confidence that investors still have in Chile’s economic stability so soon after that destructive event.
Two major office towers being developed in the high profile Parque Arauco (located along Cerro Colorado street in Las Condes) were aggressively fought over by foreign investors (Kanam Grund and Union Investment in particular, two of the largest European real estate investment funds active in Latin America) and local investment funds. It appears that Celfin, a significant Chilean home-grown fund that has a register full of cash, will take the prize…or prizes as it were, having outbid the competition. The Parque Arauco developers invested approximately US$40 million in the construction of these two office buildings and the word is that the final negotiated sale price is approximately 1.5 million UF (currently about US$60 million). The Torres del Parque are already more than 70% leased. Of the 26,000 m2 of rentable area, only about 6,500 m2 are vacant. More >
Uncertainty Surrounds European Property Markets
May 3rd
Whilst there is a mood of greater optimism across the European continent, significant uncertainties remain. Mixed messages relating to the proposed measures by the Eurozone countries and the IMF to bail out the Greek economy are leading to anxiety that the indecision could cause the financial markets to slide and at least one senior German politician has called upon Greece to seriously consider leaving the Eurozone. Meanwhile, in the UK, the result of the election on 6th May looks increasingly uncertain. For the first time in living memory all three major parties are running close in the polls and the leader of the Liberal Democrats who, before the campaign began, was almost completely unknown to the electorate was judged ‘more popular than Churchill’ following the first televised debate between the Leaders. A ‘hung’ parliament with no clear winner is now widely expected, with the attendant risks for the already fragile UK economy. More >
NAI Global, Harcourts Set Sights on Vast Opportunity in Australia, New Zealand Real Estate Markets
Apr 26th
I’ve been invited to speak at the annual Harcourts conferences in New Zealand and Australia in May to discuss the launch of NAI Harcourts, a joint venture of NAI Global and Harcourts in Australia and New Zealand. Harcourts is a leading real estate services provider in Australia and New Zealand, with over 180 offices and 1,800 sales consultants in New Zealand, and over 270 offices and 1,280 sales consultants in Australia. Harcourts provides both residential and commercial property services, and the commercial property activities will go forward under the NAI Harcourts banner combining the deep local roots of Harcourts in those markets with the worldwide commercial property reach and expertise of NAI Global. More >
India – The World’s Manufacturing Hub
Apr 26th
The industrial property market is heating up in India. Global companies are considering India as a manufacturing hub for their operations in Asia due to the comparatively low cost of labor (skilled & unskilled), readily available talent pool, improving infrastructure, establishment of Special Economic Zones, tax incentives, concessional power tariffs across various states, multiple sea ports, new airports, and the government’s focus on the industrial development of economically backward states/cities. More >
Central London Offices – The “Perfect Storm”
Apr 19th
Developers in Central London are dusting off plans to deliver new buildings in anticipation of an unprecedented shortage of office space at the core of London’s financial district.
Take-up in the city ended the last decade on a high note with 2.1 million SF let in Q4 2009, the highest quarterly total for five years and the fourth highest of the decade. With take up hitting a high note, supply fell by more than a third over the last 12 months. With total current supply at only around 4.7 million SF this will not meet the predicted surge in demand from corporate occupiers over the next five years. More >
