Investment in commercial real estate in Italy surged 16% to over €2 bn in the first half of 2013, raising investors' hopes for a market revival in the coming months.
Investment in commercial real estate in Italy surged 16% to over €2 bn in the first half of 2013, raising investors' hopes for a market revival in the coming months.
According to preliminary data published by adviser CBRE, the country saw the average transaction size double to €42 mln, from €20 mln registered in 2012.
A number of factors have contributed to this positive result but the main driver was the return of international capital which is looking at Italy with a 'window of opportunity' approach. In the first six months of the year, international investors represented 62% of the total transactional volume, the research found.
This compares to an average of less than 30% in the years from 2009 to 2011. New entries in the investment market include buyer groups from Qatar, Norway, and Sweden. CBRE in particular said it is actively working on finalising €1 bn of transactions.
The broker noted, however, that the market is still suffering from a lack of liquidity as the main financial institutions are not open for new business. 'Banks are still avoiding the devaluation of their non-performing assets and the repricing has been limited to just a few assets,' commented Alessandro Mazzanti, CEO of CBRE Italy.
He added: 'The market's revival depends not only on improvements on a macroeconomic level but is also linked to the repricing and devaluation of the banking sector's problem assets.'
