Spain enters post-crash era after an excellent year for commercial real estate investment

Marking a new post-crash era, a total of 8.9 billion euros has been invested into commercial real estate in Spain, comparable to pre-crisis levels.

The news once again confirms the renewed faith investors have in the Spanish property market, on the backdrop of a 3.1 per cent economic growth in 2017 and a further expected expansion of 2.5 per cent in 2018.

Despite political upheaval surrounding the Catalan independence movement, Bloomberg reported that 2017 was Spain's year in terms of economic growth and stability.

"The Spanish economy is doing well, its banks are healthy, there's a very investor-friendly legal framework and property is still cheap compared to other European cities," said Merlin Properties Socimi's founder Ismael Clemente. "It's all come together."

According to Savills, one of the world's largest real estate firms, backed by several other government sources, the majority of the real estate investment in Spain comes from foreign buyers, who accounted for approximately two-thirds of investors. Investment in retail properties is also an a notable and understandable trend, given the lucrative returns involved in Spain when compared to more expensive cities like Frankfurt or Paris.

"Rents are rising and so is occupancy, and that's what's motivating investors," said Savills' Luis Espadas, head of capital markets at the firm office in Madrid.

Property investment in Spain has finally recovered from the financial crisis, paving the way for a continued upward trend in 2018.