European real estate investment up 32% in q1

Direct commercial real estate investment volumes in Europe reached EUR 26 bn in the first quarter 2011 (Q1 2011), representing an increase of 32% year-on-year, according to new research from Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL). Successful debt and equity issuance has provided liquidity to the market, which in turn drove cross-border investment from equity-rich investors.

JLL expects the current positive trends to continue and maintains its forecast for 2011 of up to a 30% increase in volumes across the region compared to 2010 figures (EUR 102 bn), as the volume of equity targeting European markets continues to rise.

Predominately driven by a continuing interest in core London assets, the UK continued to dominate the European investment market in Q1 2011, capturing 38% of all investment capital in the region (compared with 35% in Q1 2010). Significant activity was also witnessed in the French, German and Swiss investment markets, whilst Poland, Russia and the Czech Republic all experienced a strong start to 2011 with volumes up notably on those recorded in Q1 2010.

Russia, in particular, has seen a defined uptick in transactional activity; at EUR 763 mln, investment volumes in Q1 are almost three times higher than levels seen in the first quarter of 2010. In Poland, activity is 200% higher in comparison to Q1 2010 and investment volumes for the Czech Republic are already 89% of its 2010 total.

Source: Property EU