21 transactions totalling over £411 million signed in the first nine months of 2014

Belfast, 3rd October 2014 – According to the latest analysis from property advisor CBRE, excluding loan sales, over £411 million has been invested directly in the commercial market in Northern Ireland during the first nine months of 2014. In total, over £267 million was invested in the Northern Ireland property sector during the third quarter of 2014, compared to almost £144 million in the first half of the year, bringing total investment in the region in the first nine months of 2014 to a bumper £411 million.

94% of investment sales in Northern Ireland in the first nine months of 2014 have comprised retail properties with large transactions such as the sale of Forestside Shopping Centre in Belfast; the Abbey Centre in Newtownabbey and Foyleside Shopping Centre in Londonderry completing in the period.

Prime yields in Northern Ireland have contracted over the last few months due to the weight of money chasing property in the region and are expected to trend stronger over the course of the coming months. According to CBRE, prime office yields in Northern Ireland are now in the order of 6.75%; prime shopping centres are yielding approximately 6.75%; prime high street retail yields are approximately 6% while prime industrial yields are approximately 7.5%.

ENDS