What will be the most well-performing investment products of the coming period? How does political risk factor into investment decisions? How many years of growth do we have left in the current cycle? These are some of the questions that members of the investment panel at CEE Property Forum 2018 answered.
Based on the experience of the past 20 years it is very difficult to predict which will be the most successful investment products during the next 20 years. The market is changing rapidly and we will need to face a number of challenges in the coming years, but despite all the potential risks, the CEE real estate market is booming with rents rising and yields compressing, said Mike Atwell, Head of Capital Markets Czech Republic and Lead Director CEE at JLL.
The lack of quality investment product remains a huge issue in the region but many believe that is not an asset’s type that determines the investment’s success but its management. There will always be demand for well managed and profitably operated property in a good location, highlighted Lila Pateraki, Chief Investment Officer at Zeus Capital Management.
Logistics continues to be the asset class offering the best returns, added James Quill, Director of Transactions at Prologis, who thinks that the current cycle may even have 3-4 good years left in it. The next big concern is the size of the correction that will follow these good years. Luckily, the experts of investment panel at CEE Property Forum 2018, moderated by Jean-Bernard Wurm, Co-Founder & Managing Director at Secure Legal Title, London, believe that it will be a mild correction.
As the market environment changes so does the behaviour of our clients. With less quality product available on the market, investors are willing to take bigger risks in order to find the best opportunities, added Tomás Behounek, Partner at bnt attorneys in CEE who thinks that a number of investors are still hesitant to enter CEE because of political risks.
Dr. Piotr Gozdziewicz MRICS, Director of Capital Markets CEE at BNP Paribas Real Estate, on the other hand, believes that when discussing political risk it is not enough to look at this region only. Rising political uncertainty is a global trend, so the biggest question is what will be the effect of an economic slowdown on the region.
