International investors bought commercial property for 50 billion in Norway last year. This as much as the nine preceding years added together.
We see a lot of international interest from investors who want to enter the commercial real estate, director of analysis and valuation, Gunnar Selbyg DNB Næringsmegling says to the newspaper Dagens Næringsliv.
There are several reasons for the marked increase in the last year, according to Selbyg .
– Lower interest rates leads more people to invest in commercial property, which is considered a safe investment. Norway is perceived to be stable with both a population growth and room for additional oil spending, he said.
The relative return on commercial property is higher when the interest rates are low, and a weaker exchange rate also increases the purchasing power of international investors.
29 individual transactions last year totaled more than one billion. Twelve of these transactions was larger property portfolios who changed owners.
– There are now many Norwegian investors are sitting on lots of capital after selling their commercial properties, says Selbyg.
The largest single trade last year by international buyers was made by Finnish Citicon who bought Sector Group with 34 shopping centers for 12.3 billion. Sellers was Petter Stordalen, Varner Brothers and grocery family Johannson.
Altogether, according to DNB Næringsmegling 253 commercial trades that were 50 million or more were completed last year. This adds up to a total volume of 130 billion.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
