The results of the Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2013 have been released and German cities are the favored location for commercial property investors in Europe.
The report, which was prepared by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) provides ranks for 27 European cities. The rankings are based on the respondents’ expectations regarding market performance for 2013.
Munich is the top European location for investors
Munich holds the top spot for investors. Berlin came in second and Hamburg holds the fifth place in the ratings. Investors were impressed by these cities’ strong commercial property market conditions and local economies.
London is considered by a number of investors to be one of the “safe haven” cities in the marketplace. It sits in third position in the results, and has the distinction of being the city that had the highest upward mobility through the ranks in this year’s survey.
Larger Western European cities tended to rank higher on the survey. These locations have better economic prospects and international appeal, which are attractive features for investors.
The cities that fared worst in the survey were ones that are located in countries that are still struggling in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis or are in the midst of the Eurozone crisis, including Athens, Barcelona, Dublin and Madrid.
Istanbul is the top-ranked city for future development opportunity, according to the results of the survey. Investors are drawn to the city’s “exciting real estate potential” and impressive economic growth. Recent changes that have eased restrictions on foreign ownership of Turkish real estate will only serve to boost investment in this market.
The respondents’ mood was more pessimistic about the urban property market than at any time since 2004. They were more optimistic about prospects for their own businesses, though. The results indicated a positive outlook that hasn’t been reflected in the survey results since 2008.
