To the end of September 2022, Hamburg's commercial real estate investment market had achieved a transaction volume of EUR 3.55 billion, reports international real estate consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield. This exceeds the previous year’s result by 77 percent.
More than half of the transaction volume (around EUR 1.9 billion) is accounted for by acquisitions and participation deals, such as the takeover of alstria office by the Canadian asset manager Brookfield Properties in the first quarter or Commerz Real's acquisition of a 25% stake in Elbtower in the third quarter. Conventional sales of properties and land add up to around EUR 1.6 billion.
Investment focus on city centre
With 25 percent of the transaction volume, the focus of investment activity in the current year has been on the City Centre submarket. Four properties from the alstria portfolio as well as the sale of the Klöpperhaus building in the second quarter with a value of more than EUR 100 million each contributed significantly to this.
Office properties strongest asset class in terms of transaction volume
Office properties and office development projects were the dominant asset class with a volume of EUR 2.2 billion to the end of the 3rd quarter. This corresponds to 62 percent of the investment volume. The largest office transaction, the sale of Altes Fernmeldeamt in the Harvestehude / Rotherbaum submarket in the 3rd quarter for around EUR 400 million by Peakside Capital to Values Real Estate, was also the largest single-property transaction in the current year.
The second-strongest asset class was retail property with around EUR 420 million and a contribution of 12 percent. Last year's weak figure of EUR 88 million was thus more than tripled and the 5-year average for the first three quarters was also exceeded by 54 percent. The sale of the Klöpperhaus department store contributed significantly to this strong result.
Marc Rohrer, Head of Capital Markets and Branch Manager of Cushman & Wakefield in Hamburg, explains: "If one disregards participation acquisitions and takeovers, the Hamburg investment market was far less dynamic than in previous years to the end of September. The uncertainties triggered by the interest rate turnaround continue to hamper pricing. If the ECB raises the key interest rate further, as we assume, the 4th quarter will also be characterized by uncertainties and a year-end surge in the classic sense will fail to materialize."
Yields continue to rise
The net initial yield for first-class office properties in Hamburg's central locations has risen by 35 basis points year-on-year to 3.15 percent. No easing is expected in the financial markets in the 4th quarter, which is why prime yields for office properties are expected to continue to rise.
The prime yield for 1-A retail properties is currently 3.70 percent. It has risen by 10 basis points compared to the previous quarter, but is still 5 basis points lower than a year ago. For prime logistics properties, the prime yield is 3.60 percent, an increase of 50 basis points compared to Q3 2021.
