ING REIM favours retail and logistics for 2010-11

European retail and logistics property sectors look more appealing than most office markets over the 2010-2011 timeframe due to their proven defensive qualities -- notably the high and stable income component in investment returns -- during the economic crisis. That is one of the key conclusions of ING Real Estate Investment Management Europe (ING REIM Europe) in its latest European View research report.

Office markets are attractive for investors seeking higher returns for a commensurate increase in the level of risk. For prime European offices, ING REIM favours the following three cities: Prague, Paris La Défense and Brussels. The top three locations for prime European shopping centre are: Sweden,
France and Finland. For prime logistics investments, the report favours Paris, Hamburg and Rotterdam.

Eugene Philips, Managing Director Research & Investment Strategies at ING REIM Europe, conceded that the market faced a possible failure of the Eurozone’s recent EUR 750 bn safety net to secure the fiscal positions of countries on its southern and western peripheries. But the picture for major European real estate investment markets continues to look attractive, he said, pointing to the positive yield spread of property over government bonds and the fact that ING economists are forecasting positive growth in most European countries again. 'The coming quarters will show whether the rescue package is sufficient to have a lasting effect on confidence and if the countries under scrutiny will initiate the required fiscal discipline and reforms. If not, real estate markets in Europe might face renewed headwinds.'