DTZ has published research revealing the top three most attractive commercial property markets for prime investment.
The list is based on comparative property prices for each city in each of three markets: industrial, retail, and office. It lists the ones most likely to provide the best returns for investors who are looking to get into the market at present.
The regions are proving to be very attractive to investors looking for better value than can be found in London.
The flow of cash into areas outside of the capital has already had an impact on the returns available to investors and resulted in changes since the beginning of the year.
When it comes to individual markets, the Manchester retail market is in first place. Property in the region is underpriced by 13.6 per cent, overtaking Leeds industrial property which held the first-place in the first three months of the year.
Leeds still retains two of the top three markets with its industrial and retail properties underpriced by 11.8 per cent and 11.1 per cent, respectively. Nottingham is the most underpriced office market in the UK at 9 per cent, which gives it the No. 4 spot on the list of most attractive markets.
DTZ has also downgraded some markets since the first quarter of the year. Three of them – Newcastle retail, Leeds offices, and Manchester offices – have been placed in this category to demonstrate that they are no longer underpriced by a minimum of five per cent of fair market value.
Three markets are now considered more attractive to investors than they did in the first quarter.
These are; Cardiff industrial, Glasgow industrial, and London City offices.
According to director Stuart Spalding, investment activity in the UK commercial market held steady during the first and second quarters of 2014.
The total for the first half of this year was £20.6 billion, or 35 per cent higher than the corresponding period last year.
