Total commercial real estate investment in Europe reached €53.4 bn in the last quarter of 2013 - a 46% increase on Q3 2013 and 19% higher than Q4 2012, according to new research published by CBRE.
Total commercial real estate investment in Europe reached €53.4 bn in the last quarter of 2013 - a 46% increase on Q3 2013 and 19% higher than Q4 2012, according to new research published by CBRE.
At €154 bn, investment activity for the full year was the highest annual total in Europe since 2007. Most European countries saw increased investment activity in Q4 2013, including those hit hardest by the eurozone crisis.
Greater London recorded its highest-ever quarterly commercial real estate investment activity in Q4 2013 (just over £9 bn) as a flurry of transactions before year-end increased activity throughout Europe. The figure is even higher than the peak levels in 2007.
Global capital, in particular from North America and the Middle East, continues to drive the London market, with only one of the 10 largest transactions in London in Q4 2013 going to a UK-based buyer.
'London‘s popularity among domestic and overseas investors continues to accelerate,' said Simon Barrowcliff, executive director of Central London Capital Markets, CBRE. 'The change in investor perception has changed significantly during 2013, which began with London being seen as a "safe haven" and ended attracting further and more diverse capital as the rental growth story took hold and appetite for risk increased.'
The fastest growth was in Europe’s peripheral markets, in particular those that were hit hardest by the euro crisis. Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland all recorded significantly more than twice the total value of commercial real estate investment in Q4 2013 as in the same quarter in 2012.
In aggregate the four countries saw close to €5 bn of investment in Q4 2013 compared to just €1.7 bn in Q4 2012, capping a year of strong recovery in all four markets.