GERMANY - Real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) is convinced the slowdown in real estate investment among German institutional investors is over.

Equities and alternative investments may have lost value last year, according to the property and investment management house, but the percentage of real estate investments in portfolios increased. And this so-called "denominator effect" and led the real estate exposure of some institutional investors, namely insurances and pension funds, to come close to regulatory limits as a percentage of their portfolios.

However, with markets recovering there is again room for real estate investments, according to Martin Braun, head of capital markets group at C&W.

"While many institutional investors used the first half of the year to strategically restructure their portfolio in light of the economic crisis they did not make any decisions about indirect real estate investments - but now there are more and more signs pointing towards a new investment phase," said.

The consultancy said it has also seen more institutional investors eager to reinvest the pension reserve assets they built up two or three years ago when markets in  indirect real estate looked strong.

While the major improvement is being seen in Germany, Cushman & Wakefield said investor focus was not only on Germany but also in the UK and the USA.

"Especially the US and the UK, the two markets with the highest price corrections, are currently offering an opportunity to enter the market cycle in a good phase," noted C&W.

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