On July 24, Amundi Immobilier threw a wrench into the water. The management company announced the drop in the share price of three of its real estate investment companies (SCPI), representing almost 10% of the market: Edissimmo, Génepierre and Rivoli Avenir Patrimoine. A decision that caused a stir… In the process, six other actors made a similar move. Result: mid-October, 21 SCPIs showed price declines of between -6% and -17%.
Competition from regulated passbooks
These supports, which make it possible to invest in professional real estate – offices, businesses, warehouses, clinics, etc. – are popular with the general public for their accessibility, from a few thousand euros, and their yield, 4.50%. on average last year. But the sudden rise in interest rates in recent months has shaken up this so-called “paper rock” market. Real estate prices are closely linked to rates: the cheaper the money, the more the real estate is valued, and vice versa. Competition from savings products also plays a role. Currently, passbooks, term accounts and other monetary funds yield between 3 and 4% per year. “The gap between the risk-free rate and the real estate yield has compressed. It must be restored,” believes Jean-Marie Souclier, president of Sogenial Immobilier. For this, there is no miracle: rents must be increased and/or prices lowered.
But other factors come into play. “It is especially the large SCPIs which suffer because they are largely invested in offices, in Paris and the Paris region, where we find large complexes which rent less well”, notes Jérémy Schorr, commercial director of the Primaliance platform . Indeed, the rise of teleworking, which reduces the need for space, and the tertiary decree resulting from the Elan law (2018), which requires landlords to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, weighs on this category of assets.
Further depreciation cannot be ruled out at the start of 2024, following new assessments which will take place at the end of the year. The mechanism can nevertheless be virtuous for management companies: by proceeding in this way, they increase the return on their products for new subscribers, while discouraging older unit holders from exiting.
Good deals to do
Holders of SCPIs in decline must consider the relevance of keeping, or not, these products. Selling means a priori recording a loss in value. Really, it all depends on when and for what price you purchased. For example, Elysées Pierre from HSBC REIM saw its price drop from 825 euros to 767 euros last August. But customers who purchased the vehicle ten years ago still recorded a capital gain of 117 euros. It is then possible to sell to reposition yourself on more dynamic SCPIs. “The situation is more problematic for those who have invested in these supports over the last two years,” estimates Jean-Marie Souclier. “Now that the decline has taken place, it is better to collect your dividends and wait for the assets to recover.” Especially since with a subscription commission of around 10%, it takes several years to recoup its costs.
In this market in the purging phase, SCPIs capable of attracting savings for investment will do well, because there are good deals to be had. “Our growth protects us,” relates Pierre-Antoine Burgala-Dupont, director of development at Iroko. “When you collect a lot of savings, you are currently in a strong position on the market: there are fewer buyers due to the rise in the price of credit.” The profitability of new acquisitions is therefore better than that of goods in stock. On the SCPI Iroko Zen, that of properties acquired in 2023 – before allocation of fund fees – is 7.01% compared to 6.67% in 2022 and 5.98% in 2021. And the more the stock of real estate assets of the product is weak, the more these new very profitable goods will weigh heavily on the overall return. “By the end of the year, 70% to 80% of the assets of our SCPIs will have been purchased over the last two years,” mentions Jean-Marie Souclier. An enviable situation.