In France, investors prefer office property

One of the safest real estate markets in France remains the office segment, despite the stagnation of prices.

“It is easy to determine the profitability of facilities in the market office, retail and warehouse property,” says Olivier gérard, President of the French branch of the consulting company Cushman & Wakefield and Director of investments.

“In 2008, the next day after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, private investors, many of whom were French, chose this asset class. The volume of investments reached from 50 to 300 million euros. On the background of unstable situation in the market of private investors looking for reliable ways of investment,” says Gerard.

According to a study by Cushman & Wakefield in 2010 the share of private investment was 9 % of the total investment. Investing in office properties in France, investors can expect a yield of 6 %, which exceeds the profit from bonds and securities.

Office property — ideal for investors wary of the risks. Great demand for properties in major cities or suburbs with good transport links. Most often, the area in office buildings is leased for a period of 6 to 9 years.

Despite the fact that the prices of office buildings in France is trending up, the demand for offices is high enough. This is evidenced by the large transactions concluded in 2010. The Emir of Qatar has acquired over 400 million euros the building of the HSBC group, located on the Champs Elysees. Then Amancio Ortega, founder of Inditex and Creator of the Zara store chain, has invested in a few objects.

In 2010 in the region of Ile-de-France was leased 2.1 million m2 of space, against 1.75 million m2 in 2009.