Global property consultant JLL, which tracks Ireland investment market transactions, reports this week that €1.5 billion of investment deals have traded in Q2 of 2021. This is a particularly strong quarter, and combined with Q1, indicates that €2.7 billion has traded in the first 6 months of the year.
As per the last few quarters, transaction volumes have been dominated by PRS, logistics and offices, accounting for 51%, 22% and 21% of volumes in the quarter respectively. PRS continues to be the main focus of investors, and the top 3 largest deals were PRS. This includes: Royal Canal Park, Ashtown, Dublin, which was purchased for €200m by Union; The Dwyer-Nolan Portfolio in North Dublin, which was purchased by Ardstone for €181m; and a confidential, off-market transaction for €177m.
Hannah Dwyer, Head of Research at JLL Ireland says, “It is positive to see that investment volumes in Irish real estate remain strong, and activity in Q2 mirrors the strong demand we are seeing from Investors. As predicted at the start of the year, there is particular interest in the PRS, offices and industrial sectors, with market fundaments in occupier markets driving investor interest in these sectors. PRS continues to be the strongest-performing sector, with no short-term solution to the lack of residential supply across the market, driving price growth and interest. Year-to-date spend in the Irish PRS market is €1.5bn, and in the last 3.5 years totals €6.2bn. This quarter was also particularly strong for the logistics sector, with 6 large deals greater than €20m transacting. There have only ever been 24 deals of this size in the history of the Irish market, and a quarter of them took place in the last 3 months. This reinforces the demand we are seeing, with strong enquiry levels from investors on the ground for large-scale prime Dublin logistics assets. Any future product that becomes available that is prime quality and in a good location close to transport links is expected to be met with strong demand and pricing.”
Source: World Property Journal