Total investment volumes across Europe were down 18% at EUR 38bn in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the previous quarter, property consultant DTZ said in its Q1 2008 European Quarterly published on Tuesday. The French and German markets were particularly hard hit by the downturn in the wake of the credit market turmoil, witnessing investment declines of 30-40%, DTZ said.
Total investment volumes across Europe were down 18% at EUR 38bn in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the previous quarter, property consultant DTZ said in its Q1 2008 European Quarterly published on Tuesday. The French and German markets were particularly hard hit by the downturn in the wake of the credit market turmoil, witnessing investment declines of 30-40%, DTZ said.
The fallout from the credit crisis and generally tight credit market conditions have dampened the market for large-scale portfolio deals. At the same time, the position of equity-rich investors has strengthened, DTZ said, with German open-ended funds such as SEB ImmoInvest and Deka seizing on the current market climate to swoop on assets across Europe.
In Central and Eastern Europe, investment volumes fell noticeably in the Czech Republic and Hungary during the first quarter, DTZ said. However, there is still considerable unallocated equity waiting to be spent, particularly from the German open-ended funds, and local investors are also starting to become very active, the consultant added.
German open-ended funds were also active in the UK market in the first three months of 2008 after retreating from it in the final quarter of 2007. Meanwhile, UK investors continued to scour continental Europe for opportunities, buying up EUR 3.5bn worth of assets in the first quarter. The purchase of Banco Santander's headquarters for EUR 1.9bn by Quinlan Private and Propinvest was the single largest European deal over the quarter.
