Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Real Estate Investor Magazine - April 2017 | Page 50

GLOBAL MARKETS
Global
Real Estate Markets
2017 Outlook
BY WILSON MAGEE
T
he outlook for profit and dividend growth
for real estate companies around the world
generally remains positive, but differing
macroeconomic influences, as well as varied local
supply and demand trends, suggest that fundamental
outcomes will differ by market and even within
property segments in markets.
Investor concerns continue to be dominated by
potential changes in long-term interest rates in the
United States (U.S.), monetary policy in Europe and
Japan, and specific property market policies in Asia.
Strength Among Various Global Real Estate
Markets
As we survey real estate markets globally, we see
pockets of strength currently in office markets such
as Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo and Hong Kong. We
think rent growth is also likely to bolster operating
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APRIL 2017 SA Real Estate Investor
performance for rental apartment landlords in
Germany and for high-quality retail property
portfolios in Europe and Australia. Meanwhile,
expanding tourism trends should support continued
strong revenue growth for hotel property owners
in Spain. Due to strong demand from e-commerce
tenants, we expect positive trends to continue in many
industrial markets in Europe, the United Kingdom
and the United States.
Possible Challenges
Nonetheless, there are certainly areas of concern.
Uncertainty regarding the consequences of the
United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum vote to leave
the European Union make forecasting London, office
occupier demand trends difficult.
Properties have continued to trade firmly in the
investment market, however, due in part to the
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