Investment spend for Q3 2021 reached €793 million. Pricing remains mostly stable with strong demand among overseas investors for prime PRS, office and logistics opportunities in particular.
The Q3 outturn of €793 million represents an increase of 13% relative to Q3 2020. This is broadly in line with the previous five-year average of €804 million, reflecting the continued resilience of the market despite ongoing uncertainty in relation to lockdowns and their impact on occupier markets in particular.
This brings turnover for the first nine months of the year to €3.5 billion, exceeding the €3.05 billion transacted in 2020. Following a strong H1, the relaxation of travel restrictions in July meant that international buyers could once again visit Ireland to progress transactions. Indeed, several large assets have been launched to the market in recent months that were likely held back until the most recent lockdown ended.
In terms of investor origin, Irish investors predominated this quarter, accounting for 49% of total turnover. German funds also continued to acquire Irish commercial property assets, accounting for 14% of Q3 turnover with Deka Immobilien, Union Investment and AM Alpha investing a combined €116 million. Having recently attended Expo Real in Munich, our Capital Markets Team reported very positive international investment sentiment towards Ireland. This is expected to continue with good appetite from new investors seeking to enter the Irish market.
With more than €1.2 billion worth of assets on the market moving into Q4, turnover for 2021 is expected to exceed €4 billion – well above the previous 10-year average of €3.2 billion.
