Not as much as one might think. Of course, rising interest rates have affected valuations, but this generally applies to all real estate equally. Clearly, some property sectors, such as student housing, where rents can be adjusted regularly, have been less affected. In general, though, we see that the interest rate developments have not changed the macro trends – such as e-commerce, home office, urbanisation, and housing supply shortages – or the relative attractiveness of asset classes. Therefore, a major adjustment of the strategy was not necessary.

The topic of home office has been widely discussed in recent years, and yes, demand for office space has decreased overall because of it. Older properties and those in less central locations are suffering. We continue to focus on prime office locations with high quality, as these will remain in demand in the long term. Modern, well-located office buildings that meet the highest energy standards are in higher demand than ever and show rental growth. We have also invested in office locations in urban mixed-use areas, where residential, retail, office spaces, and hotels compete for tenants. This has worked very well in the northeastern part of Paris, while it has been less successful further west in the city.

Frankfurt is a special market. On the one hand, there are mostly new office buildings that are fully leased and achieving record rents, and on the other hand, buildings that are struggling to find tenants. In areas outside the city centre, office spaces have been converted into residential units. Even in prime locations, office investors must continually invest in their properties to maintain their appeal.

As property managers, we can directly influence the sustainability of the properties and are responsible for their implementation. Our main focus is on taking economically sensible measures. It means that we make buildings more sustainable, which can, among other things, reduce vacancy risks and improve profit prospects.

Both. Of course, investments in sustainable technologies are necessary, but they pay off. We see that tenants are willing to pay higher rents for energy-efficient office space, as many companies have set CO2 reduction targets. This can be empirically proven, particularly in London. Additionally, home office brings an interesting effect: Companies take up less space, but are willing to pay more per square meter.

The negative perception is certainly unfortunate for us as an industry. However, it is important to understand that value adjustments do not mean that real estate is no longer a safe investment. Compare this to government bonds: When interest rates rose from -1% to +2.5%, bond prices fell by 25-30%. This does not mean that government bonds are inherently unsafe. Similarly, real estate fluctuates in value, but in the long run, prices can rise again. I am confident that values will be higher in five years than they are today.

We offer similar products to other market players, but sometimes with a slightly different focus. Early on, we reduced our office share in the portfolio, and increased our focus on residential real estate.

We still see great opportunities, particularly in the residential segment, and with high-quality office space. The structural challenges in housing construction remain, which will lead to rising rents in the long run. At the same time, we see that top-class office space is still in demand, while outdated buildings are having a harder time.