The European Association for Investors in Non-listed Real Estate Vehicles (INREV) has launched a pan-European ‘living’ fund index, tracking the performance of more than €60bn of residential-related real estate assets.
The European Living Fund Index covers more than 50 private real estate funds invested in residential and student housing assets on a quarterly basis.
INREV said the launch of the index reflected the 25-year expansion of the European living sector, which has grown from four funds with a total gross asset value of €5bn.
Over the past decade, the living sector has outperformed the wider INREV Pan-European Funds Index on both a short and long-term basis, as well as individual commercial sectors like retail and offices, INREV said.
The first edition of the index recorded a total return of 1.8% in the third quarter of 2025, comprised of 1.08% capital growth and 0.72% distributed income. It also posted a one-year average rolling return of 7.46% and a 10-year average of 8.84%.
The new index covers a 12 sub-indices, including residential, student housing, closed-ended and open-ended, single-country and pan-European.
Iryna Pylypchuk, director of research and market information at INREV, said that, over the past decade, the European living sector had become “more diverse, in terms of sub-segment and geography, in part due to the structural undersupply of housing and changing demographics, but also increased mobility, as well as the choice/need of different living arrangements across both older and younger generations”.
Pylypchuk added: “All indications are that institutional investor demand is set to continue apace. That makes the launch of the new pan-European Living Index timely and highly relevant. The depth and richness of the data will provide investors with greater transparency and insight into the sector.
“As it evolves, we aim to continue to grow the number of bespoke subindices, such as senior housing or student housing and across markets to help drive deeper insights and better-informed investment decisions.”
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