Heitman LLC (“Heitman”), a global real estate investment management firm today announced the acquisition of its first residential asset in Oslo. Bjerkebanen Apartments is located in the growing Bjerke district of Oslo and has over 6,000 square metres of residential and commercial space. The micro location will benefit from the completion of ongoing local public investments in infrastructure that are being made in the area, including a major hospital, which, combined with historical high demand and diminishing supply for residential-for-rent is expected to generate rental growth going forward.
This transaction reinforces Heitman’s strong conviction in the Norwegian market and follows the firm’s successful acquisition of a student housing platform in Norway.
“Oslo has experienced among the highest growth in house prices and lowest rates for new housing supply per new capita in Europe.”
Caleb Mercer, Managing Director, European Real Estate Investment, comments: “With a strong macroeconomic environment, low public debt, and a largely decarbonised energy grid, we’ve seen Norway emerge as a truly resilient market over the past few years. Moreover, over the past 30 years, Oslo has experienced among the highest growth in house prices and lowest rates for new housing supply per new capita in Europe.”
Tony Smedley, Managing Director and Head of European Private Equity for Heitman Europe, adds “Favorable structural dynamics increase the scope for performance, especially when combined with attractive entry points such as those created by recent market dislocation in the Nordics. We consider the acquisition a reflection of our ability to both identify and access opportunities with highly compelling risk-return characteristics across Europe.”
The Bjerkebanen property provides an opportunity to add value at the physical, operational, and portfolio levels. This includes refurbishment of existing apartments, improvements in energy efficiency, and optimization of costs and ancillary income. Heitman’s experience is that having multiple sources of value creation can be especially useful in an uncertain macroeconomic environment.
