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Year in Review: Real Estate

Our Real Estate team had a very busy 2019. We assisted in more than 35 real estate transactions with a total deal value of more than NOK 7 billion. We are also pleased about improved rankings, both as a team and for our individual lawyers. In this article, we would like to point out some key issues for 2019.
real estate

The transaction market in 2019 has been very strong, and it is a broad recognition among market researchers that the total transaction volume for 2019 will be in excess of NOK 90 billion. The growth in employment has been solid, especially in the Greater Oslo-region, with a growth in demand for office spaces with a corresponding increase in the office rent. The retail sector had a bit rougher 2019 with increasing yields. The key policy interest rate was raised to 1.5% in September, but expectations for future interest rates have been reduced, and the “general forecast” is that 2020 transaction market will continue to be strong.

It looks like the project finance facilitators will constitute the most significant investor group this year. SVW’s Real Estate team has a strong position in the project finance market and in 2019 we are grateful to have assisted well-known project finance facilitators such as Colliers International Corporate, Njord Securities, Oslo Finans and Malling & Co Project Finance.

In 2019 SVW’s Real Estate team has also assisted leading real estate developers such as Rimfeldt Eiendom, Coop Norge Eiendom, Linstow, Fazenda Utvikling and Hero Eiendom.

Concerning new regulations relevant for the real estate sector it is worth mentioning the recent changes to the Norwegian financial assistance restrictions, which came into effect on 1 January 2020. This will affect the security structures for acquisition financings in 2020. This is especially relevant for real estate transactions, which at the same time will lose its current exception to these restrictions (see our newsletter (in Norwegian) for more information).

We wish you all a prosperous and Happy New Year!

This article is part of a series of articles where the different practice groups in SVW will summarize the most important regulatory happenings in Norway in 2019.