“Beyond the logistics in verve throughout the territory, and the” industrial premises “sector which is increasingly sought after in the regions, investment in offices is not experiencing the crisis and represents a market currently in under offer with a shortage in particular of “prime” buildings: it is BNP Paribas Real Estate Transaction which affirms it.
Pierre-Michel Olivier, regional investment director, specifies: “in volume, investment in offices in the regions should approach the figures of 2018, which represents the second best year after 2019 and reach, or even exceed, 3 billion euros. volume above the five-year average ”. A result “due in particular to a tense rental market, to the maintenance of low rates and to the increased interest of investors who increasingly appreciate the intrinsic qualities of the regions”.
Indeed, according to a recent study on rental markets in the regions also signed by BNP Paribas Real Estate, the latter “remain resilient, marked by the progression of new transactions, the return of“ supermarkets ”and the increase in“ prime ”rents. ” everywhere in France “.
In addition, “the crisis has not had an impact on the evolution of ‘prime’ capitalization rates in the regions,” notes the consulting company. “Thus, 2020 had confirmed a decrease in the latter compared to 2019 which was a historic year. The year 2021 will continue this trend with a compression of “prime” rates in all regions ”. Pierre-Michel Olivier specifies: “if only for the operations underway at BNP Paribas Real Estate, we will observe by the end of the year“ prime ”rates in Bordeaux and Lille below 4%. . Marseille flirts with 4%; Nice and Sophia Antipolis are significantly below 4.5%, while Lyon will continue to be, with 3.5%, the most expensive region in France, but with a rate differential of around 100 basis points with France’s Island “.
Parameters which “attract more and more investors: the Germans (Kanam and Real IS, for example) are once again positioning themselves in offices, as serious competitors of French SCPIs, which will nevertheless remain in the majority”. However, “insurance companies, mutuals and other pension funds, historically interested mainly in Ile-de-France, are increasingly looking at the regions” …
Thus, BNP Paribas Real Estate’s regional investment teams have made, since the start of the year, in Lille, Lyon and Bordeaux, “more than 1.2 billion euros in investments (authentic signatures or promises). Contrary to previous years, a trend is emerging with the appearance of large-scale operations: let us mention, among others, the signing of the “Silky Way” (Silk Square) in Lyon for an amount of approximately 140 million euros. or the recent sale in Bordeaux, by Altarea-Cogedim, of Groupama’s head office for nearly € 60 million. On the other hand, it is not a phenomenon reserved only for large agglomerations: cities like Nice-Sophia Antipolis will in 2021 double or even triple their volume invested compared to 2019 and 2020 ”… Pierre-Michel Olivier adds: “And the year is not over yet! In all regions, we have more than 1.2 billion investments in “due deal” or in marketing, some of which are emblematic, such as in Marseille “…
Above all, the future looks bright: “in view of these market qualities, coupled in most regions with a shortage of investment in new or even recent / quality buildings, we have succeeded in convincing certain investors to return to “blank” buildings in the regions, in particular by targeting offices in “prime” zones, therefore without any real rental risk, ”says Pierre-Michel Olivier, who continues:“ moreover, some investors who have been able to take risks, before or even during the Covid period, have, for the most part, rented their buildings on short post-delivery deadlines and are likely to resell them with sometimes margins of 200 basis points, or even more ”… BNP Paribas Real Estate also points out that “The regions, in offices, represented 6% of the volumes invested in France at the start of the 2000s; they now reach almost 20%. In addition, if we think in terms of surface area sold as investment in offices, regions now represent more than half of Ile-de-France “… Or that” in regions, high-end housing is often twice as expensive as “prime” offices, unlike Ile-de-France where the values are roughly equivalent. In theory, therefore, there are significant margins for improvement in office development for the future in the regions ”…
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