VGP, a European provider of high-quality logistics and semi-industrial real estate, published a trading update for the first ten months of 2021.

Analysis of 44 key office markets in EMEA showed a 155,000 sqm increase in the total amount of flex workspace, according to Colliers. This increase equates to 25,000 extra desks. Contributing to this increase was the addition of 285,000 sqm of newly opened space, but this was offset by 130,000 sqm of space that closed and a further 23,000 sqm that was abandoned. However, nearly a third of the space that closed was due to WeWork streamlining its business in key European locations such as Barcelona, Copenhagen, London and Oslo.

The European Central Bank has highlighted growing vulnerabilities in housing markets and stretched financial asset valuations in its Financial Stability Review for November 2021. The ECB has also warned of an increased likelihood of a correction in both residential and commercial real estate markets.

Data centres remain one of the fastest growing real estate segments as the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated favourable secular trends, but developers and investors looking for high yields and promising stable cash flows face specific risks. Scope Ratings says managing the risks, particularly those related to energy and the environment, has become particularly challenging today.

The European logistics markets are currently unstoppable and are reaching record levels. Supported by the flourishing online trade and a surge in demand due to last-mile requirements, the growth prospects continue to be very positive, both from an investment and user perspective, according to Catella’s Logistics Market Map Europe 2021.

Rents and house prices in the EU have continued their steady increase in Q2 2021, going up by 1.3% and 7.3% respectively, compared to Q2 2020, according to Eurostat data. Looking at long-term trends, CEE countries are among those that have registered the highest house price growth since 2010.

According to the UK analyst of Euroconstruct, Harvir Dhillon, material shortages have plagued the construction industry over the past few months. In tandem with rising inflation, global construction activity has experienced a supply-side shock that looks set to persist well into 2022. Disruption in the supply chain has been driven by a number of factors, from the constrained capacity of sawmills and steel mills to environmental factors such as the forest fires seen in major timber exporters like the United States and Sweden, to name but a few.

According to Savills, European multifamily is now firmly established as Europe’s second-biggest real estate sector. At €24.1 billion it captured 23% of the investment activity in H1 2021 across the 12 countries that the international real estate advisor monitors. This compares to a five-year average of 16%. Office investment was the highest, accounting for 28% of the total, at €29.3 billion.

Oxford Properties Group has completed its acquisition of M7 Real Estate, having received all regulatory approvals. The deal, which was announced in January this year, brings together one of the UK’s leading European real estate investment and asset management platforms and a globally renowned institutional investor operating across multiple asset classes and jurisdictions.

‘Big Box’ mainstream logistics assets continue to display strong fundamentals but with pricing pressures driving down yields and new themes emerging, other industrial sub-sectors now offer alternative opportunities to investors, according to a new report by Savills Investment Management.