'New World Cities' (like Dublin) taking centre stage in global real estate investment market
Hannah Dwyer (FRICS)
Head Research and Strategy, EMEA Work Dynamics and Global Consulting
The latest JLL Investment Intensity Index, which measures the volume of direct commercial real estate investment in a city relative to the city’s economic size, reveals the increasing attractiveness of ‘New World Cities’ to investors. Over the past 10 years a core set of 32 New World Cities has steadily increased its share of global real estate investment volumes, rising from 10 percent in 2006 to account for over 20 percent in 2015.
This includes Dublin which has remained in the global top 20, and is 15th place, ahead of San Francisco, Austin, Edinburgh, Brisbane and Berlin. As pricing has intensified in many of the global cities, New World Cities such as Dublin have increased their profile to investors as they are perceived to have better value. Dublin is a consistent, liquid market that has open and transparent operating processes, with dynamic clusters of business activity. It offers scalable real estate investment opportunities, and by ranking in 15th place, it means that it is ‘punching above its weight’ in terms of attracting real estate for a market of its size.
‘New World Cities’ account for 16 of the Top 20 in JLL’s Investment Intensity Index. They are typically small to medium-sized cities with transparent, open real estate markets and favourable infrastructure and liveability platforms.
This is no exception for Dublin. Dublin has built vibrant economic and real estate markets. This change in the last decade has happened through technology advancements, and its ability to transform and adapt to a constantly changing socio-economic landscape.