CBRE's experts Jussi Niemistö, Head of Research in Finland, and Linda Anttila, Associate Director in Residential Capital Markets in Finland, share their insights regarding the recent CBRE European Multifamily Housing report and discuss the main findings. The research report on one of the most sought-after real estate sectors compared the multifamily housing landscape in 18 countries and 40 cities, providing an easy to digest overview of the different European markets. All Nordic countries and the selected key cities were included in the report.
Rise in urban population drives the growth
The megatrend of urbanization is driving the growth of multifamily across Europe. Capital and regional key cities are leading the way in the Nordic region in population growth and urbanization with high shares of students and 25-to-35-year-olds. The high level of students and 25-to-35-year-olds keeps the share of renters high. Younger people and students value the flexibility of rental apartments, and this is one of the key drivers for the growth in the popularity of renting versus owning an apartment. The share of renter households is 35% in Finland, 27% in Sweden and 19% in Denmark and Norway.
Denmark, Finland and Sweden are more mature and liquid multifamily markets with high shares of multifamily investment and available stock, while Norway as an emerging multifamily market is seeing its residential sector develop further year by year. Connectivity of the Nordic cities continues to improve through infrastructure projects, such as the new underground connections in Stockholm, commuter train development in Helsinki as well as new tram lines in Copenhagen.
Jussi Niemistö continues:
“The population growth and economic development continues on a high note in the Nordic key cities. These drivers combined with the high residential construction activity and new infrastructure projects that improve the connectivity and traffic connections are key elements for the sector. We are expecting the tailwinds for Nordic multifamily to continue.”
Nordics are experiencing a strong interest from international capital
Nordic countries have seen the share of multifamily investment grow in recent years, especially in the last five years and the momentum has carried on during the pandemic. Denmark had the largest share of multifamily investment in 2020 with 51% of the total transaction volume followed by Sweden (30%), Finland (18%) and Norway (4%). Nordic region is also witnessing more cross-border investors looking to invest into the multifamily sector and last year Denmark and Finland had cross-border shares of over 60% and 20%, respectively.
Linda Anttila adds:
"There is a high number of domestic and international investors looking for residential investment opportunities in the Nordics. The amount of deployable capital in the market continues to be high and both standing assets and development projects are attracting a wide investor audience. The investor demand in the residential sector is expected to remain strong, and we anticipate to see further compression in yields as well as new investors entering the market."
Conclusion
CBRE Research teams across Europe compared and analysed the multifamily housing landscape in 18 countries and 40 key cities, providing an easy to digest overview of the different European markets. All Nordic countries and the selected key cities were included in the report. Multifamily is one of the most sought-after real estate sectors and has favourable long-term drivers behind it. The rise in the urban population and changes in living preferences is driving the tailwinds for rental apartments for years to come.
Please contact Jussi or Linda, should you have any questions.
Download the European Multifamily Housing Report below:
