Sherry Rexroad, chief investment officer for the Americas at BlackRock Global Real Estate Securities, joined Nareit for a video interview at REITworld 2017.
Rexroad commented on investment conditions around the globe.
In the United Kingdom, uncertainty surrounding Brexit remains and is impacting fundamentals and valuations, according to Rexroad. As for Northern Europe, growth has been accelerating on the back of particularly good demand and limited supply, she said.
Rexroad said she is more cautious on conditions in Southern Europe due to political events, debt levels and productivity issues.
Japan, meanwhile, is seeing the best economic growth it has had in decades, which is having a strong impact on office fundamentals.
Transaction volume in the United States is still high on an historic basis, but volume is lower relative to 2016. Transaction volume in Europe is higher, particularly in gateway cities, and prices have risen. “That’s the first time since 2015 they’ve seen that kind of growth,” Rexroad said.
Rexroad also stressed that the decline in retail transaction volume globally means that the data does not exist to assess true valuations in the private market.