Investors return to Europe's commercial real estate markets?

2010-03-02

In Q4 2009, more investors were interested in commercial and office buildings. The value of investments made in commercial real estate in Europe totaled €20.6bn, i.e. 26% higher than in Q3 2009 when it had stood at €16.4bn, according to a report published by DTZ.
Investors were more active in particular in France, Italy and the Scandinavian states, as well as in Central and Eastern Europe. These countries noted growth both in the value of transactions as well as in the number of concluded contracts. The reverse held true in the fourth quarter of last year in the UK and Germany, where the value of investments in commercial real estate shrunk.
In Poland, the value of buy-sell transactions for commercial properties went down by 55% year on year. Only 19 agreements were signed, with a total value of €794m. Things improved only in the last quarter of the year when the executed investments were worth €473m versus €63m in Q3 2009. In previous years, the most was invested in Polish commercial real estate by investors from the US, the UK, Austria and Germany. Meanwhile, in 2009 Poland proved attractive for investors from Australia (e.g. MGPA fund) and Spain (e.g. Azora fund).

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