Savills has announced a strong performance for 2024, with results expected to align with the company’s forecasts and substantially surpass those of the previous year – despite significant volatility in global transactional markets.
In a year end trading update it told the City this morning that the recovery in real estate markets during 2024 was tempered by macroeconomic and geopolitical factors.
These included volatile bond yields, the impact of elections in key markets and a prolonged period of elevated interest rates.
Corporate occupiers and investors alike faced limited urgency to transact due to fiscal and economic uncertainties.
ROBUST UK PERFORMANCE
The UK, the largest component of Savills’ EMEA operations, performed robustly.
This success was driven by the resilience of the prime residential property market, strong market share in commercial transactions and substantial contributions from Less Transactional service lines, including consultancy and property management.
These factors underpinned Savills’ position in the UK real estate market, even as transactional sentiment fluctuated.
GLOBAL OPERATIONS
Beyond the UK, Savills saw notable improvements across its global operations. In Continental Europe and the Middle East, enhanced results were bolstered by restructuring efforts in France and Germany.
In North America, significant year-on-year growth was achieved despite some transactions being deferred to early 2025. In the Asia-Pacific region, activity in Greater China remained subdued, but strong performances in Japan and Vietnam, alongside late-year recoveries in Australia and Singapore, contributed positively.
CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT
Savills Investment Management (SIM) faced a challenging environment in 2024 due to corrected pricing in “core” and “core plus” investment strategies and attractive short-term returns from bonds and fixed income. Despite these headwinds, SIM successfully raised approximately £2 billion and launched two new pooled fund products.
Looking ahead, Savills anticipates ongoing macroeconomic challenges but expects continued market recovery in 2025.
Factors such as refinancing-driven activity, a growing emphasis on sustainability, and increased corporate demand for office attendance are expected to drive transaction volumes.
Additionally, progressive reductions in the cost of capital are also anticipated to improve sentiment and market activity.
Savills plans to release its full-year results for 2024 on March 13, 2025.
