Foreign investors' interest in the French office market is growing at a fast rate, and capital is targeting the secure core segment as well as more speculative investments, Nicolas Verdillon, director of CBRE Capital Markets, France, has told PropertyEU.
'We have seen an increase in German investors who are taking a long-term view and no longer just looking at London,' Verdillon said during Expo Real. 'But we also see other European investors and Asian capital too, particularly from South Korea. We expect the Japanese to come back in significant numbers in the months ahead as well.'
The reasons for the surge in interest, he said, is that 'everyone realises there is a lack of new product in the market, that vacancy rates are dropping quickly in Paris and rents have stabilised and are set to increase.'
In the La Défense area, which normally attracts €1.4 bn in investments annually, this year CBRE predicts there will be investments of between €2-€2.5 bn.
