Cityscape Dubai 2006, the world’s largest international B2B real estate event taking place at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre between 4-6 December, will host exhibitors from some of Europe’s major cities. An array of innovative projects will be on show aiming to woo regional investors, flush with excess liquidity after record oil prices have pushed budget surpluses to all-time highs.
Hamburg, consolidating its presence at Cityscape Dubai with a 300 per cent increase in exhibition space, is faced with an all too familiar problem in Europe, the challenge of space, heritage and integrating future requirements into an existing infrastructure. The HafenCity project is rejuvenating 155 hectares of former docklands which will increase the size of the city by 40 per cent.
Yvonne Iversen, Investor Relations at HafenCity Hamburg, remarked, “Cityscape Dubai brings our project to a wider audience. Investor relations between Hamburg and Dubai have improved considerably over the last few years. We are designing a ‘living city’, with buildings occupied as they are built. What we don’t need are investors constructing large structures without end-users in speculative ventures.”
An exciting element of HafenCity is the Uberseequartier which is a ’24-hour city’ with residential, commercial and retail facilities as well as a science centre, aquarium and a cruise ship terminal. Due to get under way in 2007, investment opportunities are currently still available according to Iversen.
Across the border in France, Paris is still the top real estate investment market in Europe, thanks in part to the formidable support of the French government and Paris-île de France Capitale Economique, an agency which drives investment into the city. Prime Minister Dominic de Villepain recently announced that in 2005, total foreign direct investment in France doubled to 40 billion Euros. Paris has made a significant contribution to that figure and has attracted increasing amounts of capital from the Middle East, now estimated to be over 10 per cent of Paris’ total foreign investment, due to its architectural beauty, high turnover and attractive returns.
Not traditionally renowned as a hot-bed of real estate activity, Rome, the eternal city is one to watch, according to industry observers. Tallying with this opinion, global private equity firm The Carlyle Group has invested hundreds of millions of Euros in real estate projects not only in Rome but also in Milan, Turin and other cities across Italy. The focus on Italy produced a 400 per cent increase in its overall European real estate portfolio.
The residential market has been spurred-on by the Italian government’s disposal of some 1.5 billion Euros worth of real estate. In collaboration with Italian outfit Operae, The Carlyle Group secured the purchase of 36 buildings in Rome and elsewhere at a cost of 230 million Euros. After extensive refurbishment, strong demand drove impressive returns.
Guido Audagna, Managing Director of The Carlyle Group in Italy said, “In Italy, there is huge demand for properties that offer more space per person within a flexible layout that provides a state-of-the-art technical infrastructure.”
Rome sits in the heart of the Lazio region which ranks second behind Milan in terms of its contribution to Italy’s GDP. It boasts Italy’s largest airport, Rome Fiumicino and The Lazio Development Agency (Sviluppo Lazio) will also be participating at Cityscape Dubai to highlight the investment opportunities and regional government incentives available.
Warsaw continues to be a favoured destination for inward investment in real estate among the emerging economies of central Europe. Investors have favoured Warsaw since the country joined the European Union in 2004 and estimate value projects over the last five years at more than US$ 5 billion, much of it enabled by foreign capital.
Whilst rents surged in the period just prior to accession to the EU they have now settled to around ten per cent a year, which analysts believe is sustainable. Structural issues within Poland are expected to sustain demand for property and many believe the city’s population of two million will double as the liberalised economy draws more people from the countryside. Warsaw has since seen 20,000 new apartments handed over and demand for high quality office space continues to be strong.
