North Limburg retains its leading position as a logistics hotspot. So says real estate consultant JLL in its Logistics Ranking. Notable is the rise of southeastern South Holland as an attractive location for both users and investors.
According to JLL, sentiment in the Dutch logistics market has continued to strengthen in recent years. Improved economic conditions, increased consumer confidence and continued low interest rates are driving positive sentiment in the market. This improving sentiment is noticeable in the major logistics hotspots where demand for quality real estate has grown strongly compared to 2015.
"North Limburg has once again proven to be an attractive location for both users and investors over the past two years," JLL explains. Utrecht rose six places compared to 2015. The region ranks number two in the Logistics Ranking, mainly thanks to its attractive location for urban distribution. Southeastern North Brabant occupies the third spot in the list, as in 2015. Notable newcomer in the top 10 is Southeast South Holland. Due to scarcity in the wider region (Rijnmond), several transactions have taken place and speculative development is currently underway.
Strong growth in new construction
With a vacancy rate of 4.4 per cent (around 1.3 million square metres), logistics supply has fallen sharply in recent years. In addition, the take-up volume has grown strongly over the past three years, counting logistics take-up volume in the first half of 2017 of already around 1.4 million square metres. This means that the logistics user market has developed tremendously compared to 2015.
Due to strong absorption growth, the share of modern distribution centres as part of the total stock, has increased significantly. New distribution centre construction is largely driven by the scarcity of readily available modern logistics property. In addition, the current low initial yields make developing new buildings attractive due to new construction costs being significantly lower than the investment value of the property.
Signals on green
"For the logistics sector, the signals, for both the user and investor markets, remain green," says Bas Geijtenbeek, Head of Industrial & Logistics JLL Nederland. "Based on our supply chain index, which forecasts demand for logistics real estate, it appears that demand for logistics real estate continues to grow. This growth comes mainly from the retail and e-commerce sectors."
Geijtenbeek added: "To meet the growing demand of these sectors, specific built-to-suit high-rise distribution centres will be developed on the one hand. On the other hand, a large part will be able to be accommodated in the current plan stock."
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Editorial LogistiekProfs
