Retail property was the best performing commercial real estate sector in Q1 2012, according to CBRE’s European Valuation Monitor (EVM), which measures capital value movements based on regular valuations of investment portfolios carried out by CBRE across the region.
Overall, capital values across Europe remained broadly stable, registering only a marginal decline of 0.6% on the quarter. Within this, retail proved the most resilient asset class reporting a fall of just 0.2%. Excluding the UK, retail property stood at 0.1% for the quarter and 0.9% year on year.
Andrew Barber, Senior Director, Valuation & Valuation Services, CBRE, commented “Retail property has consistently proven to be resilient at a pan-European level, and this quarter marks the tenth time since the peak of the market that it has outperformed the office and industrial asset types. Good quality retail property, particularly at the prime end of the market, offers a relatively safe haven compared to the other property asset classes which remain under pressure because of the continuing uncertain economic environment in continental Europe.
“Despite challenging conditions, the relative stability of overall real estate values seems somewhat noteworthy. However, lead indicators do signal that values may only remain stable for the most prime assets in 2012. For investors, what is now considered prime is more closely defined than ever – being the newest properties in the best locations with long leases to the strongest covenants – those that do not meet the increasingly stringent criteria for prime are likely to see a further softening of values.
“This tightening of the definition of prime is in part driven by the growing body of evidence within the secondary markets that is guiding pricing, but also the lack of debt financing available that is proving problematic to sustaining a recovery in this sector.”