Cross-border investment activity is likely to rise further this year in EMEA after reaching over 40% in 2013, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Cross-border investment activity is likely to rise further this year in EMEA after reaching over 40% in 2013, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

This compares with a cross-border investment rate of around 12% in the Americas and Asia over 2013.

In its latest capital markets research, the adviser predicts European volumes will rise 13-15% to $231.5 bn (€170 bn) in 2014 from the $203.1 bn recorded in 2013, reflecting the deepening recovery across the region.

Jan Willem Bastijn, head of European capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield, said that with more regional and global capital being diverted towards property, there appears more upside than downside potential in 2014. ‘We have an increasingly optimistic view for activity in Europe next year. We’re assuming a sharpening in prices helps to bring stock to the market to feed this but it will be the stock question that decides how high we can go, given the weight of capital and now better availability of debt.’

Geographically, the European market is broadening out, with opportunistic players leading the way in to what were previously overlooked areas in southern and eastern Europe. These investors are typically seeking core quality assets in large cities, said Bastijn. ‘With austerity easing and economic growth slow but generally up, better news will continue to spread out in occupier as well as investor markets. However supply will be the big factor for occupiers not just investors in 2014, with a lack of development impacting on choice and leading to higher pricing and in all likelihood better performance in some non-core markets.’

Globally, investment volumes are set to rise 10-15% in 2014 to top the $1 tln mark for the first time since 2007, Cushman & Wakefield said. This follows an estimated 8.4% increase in volumes to $978 bn over 2013.