Investments with the 'turbo': +129% in Q1. Growth in all sectors

2025 opens positively for investments in Italian commercial real estate. Investment volumes in the first three months of the year amounted to more than EUR 2.8 billion, +129% compared to the same period in 2024. This is a snapshot provided by Cbre.
The normalisation of the ECB's monetary policies has triggered a process of revitalisation of investments, encouraged by the reduction in the cost of capital and the results of the repricing processes. The strong performance of the occupier markets further strengthened investor appetite, supporting a recovery in investments across all asset classes.

Theindustrial & logistics market, with EUR 634 million invested in the first quarter, ranks as the top asset class, up 125% over the same period last year. Volumes were driven by platform and value-add deals, the latter fuelled by strong capital availability for this sector. Despite the gradual normalisation of demand, the Italian market remains one of the best performing in Europe, with absorption volumes significantly above the historical average. At the same time, the competitive returns offered downstream from the repricing processes of the past few years help to keep investor appetite for this sector high.

The hotels market also continued to perform strongly, with volumes of EUR 619m (+149% compared to Q1 2024). In the past three months, the market was again characterised by intense activity in the value-add segment for upscale and luxury properties. Private capital and family offices contributed significantly to these volumes, approaching the sector with an increasingly entrepreneurial outlook and developing new product through repositioning or conversion of existing properties.

Continuing last year's results, the retail market continues its expansionary phase, with investments of EUR 532 million, up 815% from the first quarter of last year. In the high street segment, the interest of family offices and occupiers in the most prestigious locations remains very high, as witnessed by the large transactions recorded this quarter. Investor interest in out-of-town formats also continued to return, led by a major factory outlet transaction this quarter. Investment activity continued at a steady pace in the grocery sector, where the expansion of large retail chains continues to fuel demand for space.

In the office market, investment volume in the first quarter amounted to EUR 506m, slightly up on the same period last year (+2%). Investor appetite for the more central markets of Milan and Rome remains strong, but held back by the limited availability of stabilised product. In this context, value-add transactions are also still attractive, thanks to occupiers' increasing demand for space and the lack of quality product. The excellent entry points offered downstream of repricing and the improvement in investor confidence in the sector's fundamentals have also contributed to the return of investment in secondary markets, where properties with solid leases and competitive yields can be found.