European investment volumes in the first quarter of 2009 plunged 74% year-on-year to just EUR 11.4 bn, according to the latest investment update from Cushman & Wakefield. No market was unscathed, the adviser said.
European investment volumes in the first quarter of 2009 plunged 74% year-on-year to just EUR 11.4 bn, according to the latest investment update from Cushman & Wakefield. No market was unscathed, the adviser said.
Prime yields rose further and the market was also hit by an acceleration in the decline of the occupational sector, with rents under pressure in most areas. The combination of these factors left capital values across Europe down 18.5% over the year.
Rents fell in virtually all areas in the opening quarter as the recession bit deeper. On average, over the year to March, prime rents fell 4.1%, the first annual decline since 2003, but, in the first quarter alone, they fell at an annual rate of 14.5%. Offices remain under most pressure with rents down 19.3% per annum (pa) in the first quarter, versus a 12% drop for retail and 9.5% for industrial.
Emerging markets led the fall, with Eastern Europe seeing a fall over the quarter of 52% pa, versus 14.4% in Central Europe, 15.2% for the UK and 6.2% in the rest of Western Europe. Aside from the UK, the most affected Western markets to date are Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway and Spain.
