East of England tops commercial property sales and rentals 

The east of England is currently home to the strongest commercial real estate market, according to recent research.

Sirius Property Finance says that according to its analysis, the region tops all others in Britain when it comes to both commercial property purchases and rentals.

The company looked at current demand for commercial sales and rentals, as well as the change in the cost of investing and the rents achieved over the last year.

Its research shows that currently, 34.1 per cent of all commercial property listings on the market have already been purchased by commercial real estate investors (under offer or sold subject to contract).

Rental demand for these commercial units is somewhat lower, with just 16.3 per cent of all commercial rental stock having already been let.

However, when looking at the regional picture, 44 per cent of all commercial investment opportunities in the east of England have already been snapped up by investors, while 24 per cent of all commercial lets have already found tenants.

Further research suggests that this strong demand is being driven by low investment costs and high rental returns.

Across Britain as a whole, the average price of commercial real estate has fallen by -12.7 per cent over the last year, while rents are up 4.9 per cent annually.

Across the east of England, the average price of commercial real estate has fallen by -9.2 per cent in the last year, while the average rent achieved is up by 19.3 per cent.

The south west and south east also rank in the top three for both commercial sales and rental demand, while the north east is the least in demand region.

Head of corporate partnerships at Sirius Property Finance, Kimberley Gates, says: “It’s certainly a bit of a mixed picture across the current commercial real estate sector.

“While a robust level of investor demand remains, upward price growth across some regions has impacted their appetite for investment, even when rental values have also increased notably.

“In contrast, there are some regions, such as the east of England, that offer the ideal balance of softening property prices along with strengthening rents and it’s no surprise that demand in these regions is substantially higher.”