Britain’s commercial property market is getting stronger with industrial space leading the way, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) revealed.
During the first quarter of 2017, investor demand for UK commercial property increased across all sectors. However, industrial assets were most sought after and outperformed office and retail space.
RICS revealed that 28% more respondents noticed an increase in demand for industrial property across Britain over the first three months of this year.
Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, said:
“The results of the latest commercial property survey chime with much of the recent generally more positive economic news flow. The forward-looking indicators are also proving relatively resilient, although it would not be a surprise if activity slows somewhat ahead of the forthcoming general election.”
Rubinsohn continued by explaining that foreign interest and investment in UK commercial property continued to recover as the RICS overseas demand indicator rose for all sectors in almost all parts of the country.
Furthermore, the industrial sector also gave a strong performance when it comes to capital value expectations. In total, 44% of respondents expect prices to increase over the next three months to come.
Tenant demand for commercial property also continued its increase for the third quarter in a row.
Given all of these factors, respondents forecast rents to experience the biggest increase in the industrial sector. Their expectations of growth go for both, the next quarter as well as the year ahead.
In the retail and office sector, however, numbers are expected to only grow very moderately or remain steady.
