Regional property investment up in Q1
INVESTMENT activity across Yorkshire and the Humber’s property market increased by more than 40% to £233m during the first quarter of 2010, according to new research.
The figure generated between January 1 and March 31 this year increased from £165m over the final three months of 2009, the research by property consultants Lambert Smith Hampton found.
The increased figure was ahcieved despite there being fewer transactions, with the average property price surging from £7.8m to £11.6m – its highest increase since the first quarter of last year.
Graham Foxton, agent at LSH’s Leeds office, said: “The Yorkshire property market continues to see increasing demand, particularly from the retail and office sectors, which accounted for 48% and 38% of total activity respectively.
“Key transactions included NFU Mutual Insurance Society’s purchase of No1 Whitehall Riverside in Leeds from London & Stamford for £51.3m, who purchased the property for £37.6m nine months earlier, and Lancashire County Pension Fund’s acquisition of Benson House in Leeds from MEPC for £20m.
“The largest transaction in the region was Ignis Asset Management’s purchase of Junction 27 Retail Park in Birstall from Henderson Global Investors for £56.6m.”
Guy Gilfillan, head of LSH Yorkshire, said: “While it may appear that investment activity across the region is improving, we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves.
“Activity is restricted purely to prime stock as investors continue to adopt a cautious approach, save for Central London, which has seen a steady increase in rental levels over recent months.
“However, it is only a matter of time before the north witnesses similar improvements in rental growth, which will underpin a stabilised return to activity across all sectors.”
LSH also found that the first quarter of 2010 saw institutional investors make their largest net commitment to the UK property market for more than three years.
The quarterly UK Investment Transactions (UKIT) bulletin, reports that during 2010 Q1, institutional net investment topped £1.1bn, following on from £300m in the final quarter of 2009.
Ezra Nahome, chief executive and head of capital markets at LSH, said: “In what is a traditionally quiet period for UK institutional investors, they have dominated buying activity, accounting for 42% of the value of total purchases undertaken.
“This is the most dominant buying position they have held on record.”
