Welcome to H2:2024!
It’s been 3 years since we launched Volume 1 of The Estate Intel Comparable Handbook. In it, we compiled and presented yields, investment volumes, capital values, and key investors active within Africa, to help institutional investors and advisors gain a deeper understanding of market activity. Instead of another data compilation sequel, our team has taken a closer look at ei Database to extract compelling insights and create this African Capital Trends Report.
This year and beyond, we anticipate, and have already begun to observe, increased capital market activity through asset trades. Whether these trades are occurring at the desired speed, cap rate, or capital value levels that owners require, is another story. The slow pace of secondary market activity over the past decade has prompted new and existing institutional investors to evolve from the standard private equity model—building, stabilising, and exiting—to an approach that involves longer holding periods, predominantly through income funds, as African REIT regimes continue to struggle.
While the larger markets have provided the largest exits over the past two decades, they consistently show higher risk, especially concerning currency—an ever-present cloud over US dollar-denominated funds investing in African property. Moreover, we have also seen a few firms adopt the use of acquisition proceeds for transactions, amidst exit struggles. Nonetheless, we note hospitality's consistent attraction when the total investment value and total count are considered since 2010, as well as the emergence of data centres as of 2020. In the Estate Intel African Capital Trends Report, we also explore record-breaking green and ESG-linked financing activity, more attractive yields in niche property sectors and address the unfair anglophone investment bias that leaves opportunities in many regions unexplored.
Join us as we proudly throw colour on what is usually the ‘Data Unavailable’ spot on global real estate transaction market maps or charts.
As always, digest and let my team know what you think directly via research@estateintel.com, all feedback (including corrections) is welcome. Enjoy!
With from Estate Intel.