As large logistics center transactions have been concluded one after another recently, the nationwide factory and warehouse sales market is showing signs of recovery. It is seen as the fallout from foreign investors, who viewed it as the right time to acquire listings on the market at low prices due to oversupply and an economic downturn, buying up logistics centers.
According to related industries on the 11th, as large-scale logistics center deals (transactions) were concluded in the second half of last year, the scale of factory and warehouse transactions in Nov. increased significantly. Commercial real estate full-service corporations R Square analyzed actual transaction data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and found that in Nov. last year, nationwide factory and warehouse transaction volume was 1.8987 trillion won, up 159.3% from the previous month (732.5 billion won). During the same period, the number of transactions also increased 9.9% to 323.
This was thanks to three of the five large deals that occurred last year, excluding Dec., all being concentrated in Nov. The largest transaction during this period was the "Logis Valley Ansan" logistics center, which the U.K.-based real estate investment company M&G Real Estate acquired for 512 billion won. E-commerce corporations Coupang and global fashion corporations LF Corp. are tenants, and the entire area consists of ambient-temperature warehouses.
Next, the Jeombong-dong logistics center in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, changed hands for 220 billion won, and "Logis Point Yeoju" in Samgyo-dong, Yeoju, for 190 billion won, ranking second and third. NH Investment & Securities and Koramco Asset Management acquired them, respectively. The combined size of the three logistics center transactions is 922.3 billion won, accounting for 48.6% of all transactions in Nov.
Originally, as recently as the late 2010s, only foreign investors were interested in logistics centers. But after the COVID-19 pandemic, as demand for logistics surged with the spread of contactless consumption, domestic investors jumped in. As supply increased excessively, vacancy rates rose, and there were cases of converting cold storage with relatively higher vacancy rates into ambient-temperature warehouses or even converting them into data centers.
Industry analysis is that foreign investors now see high-quality logistics centers, whose valuations have fallen, as an opportunity for bargain acquisitions. According to global commercial real estate corporations Colliers, the share of foreign investors in domestic logistics center investment rose from 23.8% in 2020 to 32.3% in 2024, and as of Apr. last year increased to 60.5%.
An industry official said, "Domestic investors already have money tied up in existing logistics centers, or many still have a conservative outlook," adding, "Foreign investors with ample dry powder are more aggressive."
In fact, global private equity fund (PEF) manager Warburg Pincus bought the Samsung Logis logistics center in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, in Mar. last year, and decided to additionally develop two logistics centers whose expected value after completion would reach $500 million. Oaktree Capital, the largest nonperforming loan (NPL) investment company in the United States, also made its first acquisition in Korea in Mar. last year by purchasing the Hoeok-ri logistics center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.
The industry expects the factory and warehouse market to continue its recovery. In particular, there is talk that the Incheon Cheongna logistics center, whose deal closing (transaction completion) took place at the end of last month, will serve as a kind of "revival" signal. This logistics center was sold for 1 trillion won to a consortium of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KRR) and Create Asset Management, the largest-ever single-asset transaction in the domestic logistics institutional sector. As this transaction is reflected in the statistics, the transaction volume is expected to grow further.
An R Square Research Center official said, "Even as monthly transaction volume enters a recovery phase, the structure in which the conclusion of top-tier large deals determines the indicators remains strong," while also evaluating that "the factory and warehouse market in 2025 is showing a gradual recovery trend." The official added, "If the manufacturing and logistics business environment and the interest rate environment stabilize, the recovery trend could become clearer."