The City of Barcelona has become the main driver of the office real estate market in Spain. The CBRE consultant ensures that Barcelona concentrated last year 71% of all operations, followed by Madrid, with 28%. In total, the volume of operations totaled 1,682 million euros, 250% more than in 2020 and 10% more than in 2019. The great factor in this dynamism is the real estate offer of the 22@ which has made it possible to enter the market top quality assets. As stated on Tuesday, Xavi Güell, director of the CBRE Barcelona office, 40% of all operations in Barcelona are led by technology companies. Despite the tax dumping in Madrid, Barcelona is establishing itself as the main pole of attraction for new technology companies judging by the demand for offices.
The total of real estate investments in 2021 was a record, with 3,657 million euros, 139% more than in 2020 and 24% more than in 2019. In this global investment, the weight of Barcelona is 29% , compared to 34% in Madrid. Also at the state level, the weight of the office market accounts for the greater part. Specifically, offices account for 46% of investment, compared to 21% for hotels, 17% of rental assets, 10% of logistics investment and 5% of private investment in housing. In the case of Barcelona, 50% of investment in offices has come from German capital.
In the chapter of investment in hotels It is striking that in 2021 the purchase and sale operations took place, but not with low prices. “The pandemic has not affected the price of hotels and investments have been maintained, especially in city centers,” Güell explained. One explanation is that supply remains below demand. Investment in hotels in Barcelona reached 778 million euros, 300% more than in 2020 and 221% more than in 2019. This figure represents 26% of the total investment in hotels throughout Spain, compared to 15% from Madrid.
For CBRE experts, the key to Barcelona’s strength in the Spanish real estate sector is fundamentally based on the fact that it is considered a secure market with relatively low prices on a European scale. It maintains what experts consider strong fundamentals, fundamentally high occupancy levels and stable rental growth since 2015. In the case of offices, Barcelona has a good quality, modern offer that has maintained current sustainability criteria, especially in that key neighborhood that is 22@. In fact, 50% of the operations carried out affect 22@, 33% in the city center. The total number of square meters contracted in Barcelona was 300 million square meters in 2021.
The balance of the real estate sector for 2021 is positive and it is suggested that the bonanza will continue this year, especially in offices: “We would have to go back to 2007 to obtain data similar to last year. Looking ahead to 2022, it is expected that This segment will continue to lead investment in Barcelona and reach figures similar to or even higher than the 2021 record,” said the head of Research Barcelona at CBRE, Marta Tarrío.
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For its part, the Living sector, which includes rental assets (homes, residences, etc.) closed the year with an investment of 627 million euros, exceeding 2020 data by 124% and 2019 by 116%. The closing figure for the year in BCN also represents 21% of the national total. “This segment will continue to be one of the engines of 2022 and will close the year surpassing the investment record of 2021. This is demonstrated by the closing of the purchase of 2,000 homes by the investment fund manager Patrizia, with an investment of 600 million euros, in the first month of the year”, explained Güell.
According to CBRE forecasts, the Barcelona office market could close the year with an investment volume between 1,500 and 1,800 million euros and even exceed the figures recorded in 2021. Predictably, the average contracting will amount to 340 million square meters this year, above the 300 million in 2021.
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