27.07.10
CEE real estate investment turnover reached €953 million in the second quarter (Q2) of 2010, a 32% increase on the €721 million transacted in the first three months of 2010, according to the latest data from CB Richard Ellis. Investment turnover rose despite the stress factors emerging in the broader capital markets, such as the sovereign debt crisis and the introduction of austerity measures by many European governments. The report shows that European commercial real estate investment turnover reached €23.5 billion in the second quarter of 2010, a 15% increase on the €20.3 billion transacted in the first quarter of 2010. Investors continue to predominantly focus on the core assets, predominantly at the prime end of the market, with the largest, most liquid markets seeing the most activity. As property investors’ concerns over issues of sovereign debt grew during Q2 2010, the flight to quality seems to have intensified even further.
Q2 2010 investment activity remained concentrated in the UK, Germany and France, which together accounted for 62% of the European investment total. France saw the highest growth of the three markets, with a quarter-on-quarter increase of 46%. The UK market saw an increase of 24% in investment activity in Q2 2010.
The increased interest in the Polish and Nordic markets should not be seen as coincidence, but as evidence that investors are recognising the robust fundamentals.
Other notable features of the European investment market in Q2 2010 were the growing number of large deals and an increase in cross-border activity.
