CUCKOO funds have deployed more than €1.3bn this year to buy a swathe of property portfolios and apartment blocks off plan, chiefly in Dublin.

The quarterly commercial property report by Cushman & Wakefield says institutional investors have spent €638.2m in the year to September buying residential assets, including last month's €52m sale of a 214-apartment portfolio to Chicago-based Heitman Capital.

The report says these global property companies also have struck deals totalling €697.6m to acquire apartment developments still under construction, with most not due for completion until 2020 or beyond.

The biggest deals this year include the €175.5m paid by US property company Greystar to Singapore-based developer Oxley for the 268-apartment Dublin Landings development on North Wall Quay, and the €94m paid by Starwood Capital unit Urbeo to Cairn Homes for The Quarter at CityWest.

Jonathan Hillyer, investments director at Cushman & Wakefield, said the European Central Bank's rock-bottom interest rates meant that "real estate returns continue to look attractive to fund managers across Europe, with Dublin remaining as a key city".

"Lack of available investment opportunities across the continent remains a constraint in the marketplace which should see continued robust pricing at least in the short term."

The report found that commercial property investment nationwide this year has increased by 15pc to €2.4bn, with €1.9bn spent on Dublin properties and €151m in Cork.

Commercial investors spent €989.4m this year acquiring offices. The biggest third-quarter deals were German fund manager Union Investment's €197m purchase of 5 Hanover Quay in Dublin's Docklands and Singapore-based Mapletree's €165m purchase from Blackstone of the Nova Atria campus in Sandyford.

Irish Independent