Coima: transaction volumes over €11 billion in Italy in 2022
The Italian real estate market continues to attract foreign investments: transaction volumes will increase to over €11 billion by the end of the year, above last year’s €10 billion figure, according to Coima figures. Foreign capital accounts for 73% of the total.
Looking at investments in the nine months to September, offices have been the most popular (€3.9 billion), followed by Logistics (€2.4 billion), hotels (€1.1 billion), residential (€800 million) and retail (€600 million).
Prime offices have been in great demand and the office market is becoming more polarised. While the overall vacancy rate is 10.4% in Milan, it drops to 2.5% for grade A offices and it is zero in new, high-quality development in the CBD and in Porta Nuova.
Italy still lags behind other European countries, Coima said: 14% of the office stock is grade A in Milan, but the percentage drops to 6% in Rome, well below 46% in London, 43% in Barcelona or the 30% EU average. There is a great opportunity to upgrade and repurpose stock, Coima said.
Coima is doing its bit to take Italy forward: the group’s Porta Nuova development has obtained LEED and Well for Community certifications, becoming the first urban regeneration project in the world to have both. LEED is granted by the US Green Building Council and Well by the International Well Building Institute to projects that are sustainable and have a positive social and economic impact on the community.
“After 20 years of commitment on sustainability we are proud to announce that Porta Nuova has been the first to obtain the double certification”, said Manfredi Catella, Founder & CEO, speaking at Coima’s Real Estate Forum in Milan. “This is due to the synergies between the private and public sector and to the long-term partnership with Qia, an institutional investor with a strategic vision focused on sustainability and value creation”.
The Qatar Investment Authority (Qia) owns Porta Nuova and has already invested over €5 billion in Italian real estate since it first entered the market in 2006 with the acquisition of the Excelsior Gallia hotel in Milan.
“Around 70% of our assets in Italy are offices, 20% is in the hospitality sector and 10% residential”, said Ahmed Al-Hammadi, Chief Investment Officer Europe, Qia. “We keep looking for new opportunities to invest and we use our partner Coima as our eyes and ears in Italy. We have a long-term strategy and sustainability is absolutely crucial for us”.
As Coima’s recent ESG City Impact fund has already reached the €520 million mark and is set to achieve its €1 billion target, the group is about to launch three more ESG-focused investment vehicles: Coima Opportunity III, with a value-add strategy; Coima Evergreen, with a core-plus strategy; and Coima PRS platform, focused on investments in build to rent.
