Commercial Property Investments Up 45 Percent, Reports Colliers International

SEATTLE, June 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Colliers International Group Inc. (Nasdaq: CIGI) (TSX: CIG) has issued its first U.S. Capital Flows Research and Forecast report, which shows that commercial property investments are up 45 percent in the first quarter of 2015. According to the analysis of data from Real Capital Analytics, office and apartment transactions led the market, with quarterly sales of $33.5 billion and $33 billion respectively.

"Overall, we are seeing investor confidence continually emboldened, as evidenced by the increase in cross-border investments across property types," said Brian Ward, President, Capital Markets & Investment Services | Americas for Colliers International. "However, it is important to keep this encouraging data in perspective. For example, although apartment transactions increased up to 68% over the same period last year and office sales saw a 43% increase; both property types experienced declines from their Q4 2014 levels."

Key takeaways from this report include:

• Cross-border investment more than doubled (+111 percent) this quarter over one year prior, capturing $22.2 billion in properties across all major types.
• Office and apartment sales lead the way with quarterly sales of $33.5 billion and $33 billion, respectively.
• Traditionally leaders in cross-border investment into the US, Canadian investors were edged out by sovereign wealth funds from Asia. Examples include GIC's acquisition of the huge IndCor industrial portfolio from the Blackstone Group.
• Entity-level transactions make significant jump in Q1 2015, with $21.5 billion worth of companies acquired. This was nearly equal to the 2014 full-year total. 
• Liquidity events refresh coffers: Industrial transaction volume, which totaled $21 billion in Q1 2015, saw by far the largest jump this period, up 97 percent from $10.6 billion in Q1 2014 and 23 percent from $17.1 billion in Q4 14, due entirely to an unprecedented spike in entity-level deals. At $9.2b, Q1 2015 was the biggest quarter for industrial mergers since RCA started tracking the market. The bulk of this was due to one major transaction by Blackstone.    
• Private equity takes profits: Blackstone was looking to cash out, and the word on the street was that an $8 billion IPO was in the works for their industrial subsidiary IndCor Properties. But when the Singapore Govt. Investment authority GIC Group came knocking with $8.1 billion the deal was done.
• Private to public REIT shift: Private, non-traded REIT CCIT, managed by Cole Capital, also found an exit strategy. After acquiring its portfolio of industrial and office properties between 2012 and 2014, including over $2 billion in property acquisitions in 2013. The bulk of these were single properties and small portfolios purchased from local developers.
• Outlook for interest rates uncertain: Long-term interest rates have been somewhat volatile in 2015 as Wall Street attempted to handicap the timing and magnitude of the first post-recession increase in the Federal Funds Rate.

The full Colliers International Q1 U.S. Capital Flows Research and Forecast report is available for download at http://www.colliers.com/en-us/insights/market-news/2015-q1-us-capital-flows-report.

About Colliers International Group Inc.

Colliers International Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CIGI; TSX: CIG) is a global leader in commercial real estate services with more than 16,300 professionals operating from 502 offices in 67 countries. With an enterprising culture and significant insider ownership, Colliers professionals provide a full range of services to real estate occupiers, owners and investors worldwide. Services include brokerage, global corporate solutions, investment sales and capital markets, project management and workplace solutions, property and asset management, consulting, valuation and appraisal services, and customized research and thought leadership. Colliers International has been ranked among the top 100 outsourcing firms by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals' Global Outsourcing for 10 consecutive years, more than any other real estate services firm.

For the latest news from Colliers International, visit Colliers.com or follow us on Twitter (@ColliersIntl) and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Colliers International

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