The Moravian capital of Brno lies at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers. It is the second largest city in the Czech Republic. Economic recovery is taking a firm hold in the Czech Republic, with GDP expected to grow by 2.4 percent this year and 2.7 percent in 2015.
It’s a definite dichotomy, this marked difference between the behaviour and performance of real estate markets across Europe — there is talk after the three quarters just finished that 2014 could be the best year for transaction activity since 2007 — and European economies, where growth is anaemic, inflation is heading for deflation, and the talk is not so much of “best” as of “worst”.
It is a truism that those who consider themselves to be contrarians generally don’t work for institutional investors or investment managers who are the pillar of the establishment. It is recognised, though, that some form of early-mover positioning can be an effective way of producing long-term alpha. In terms of investment behaviour, however, the image for a contrarian is one of an unconventional, against-the-herd maverick, someone prepared to entertain business, reputational or career risk — or all three! — in pursuit of an outperformance strategy.
Asian investors have been buyers of real estate on a global scale for more than five years, and the trend only looks set to continue. But they are changing their tune in terms of what they are seeking when they talk to property fund managers, investment advisers and the brokers that help them invest directly.
This article seeks to identify the key characteristics of a successful city and focuses on one city in particular that we believe is set to be transformed over the next decade and beyond. That city is Berlin.
The Nordic economies, especially Sweden and Norway, have outperformed most of Europe in recent years, and this has been attracting the attention of international investors.
Because commerce and capital are now so globally interconnected, a property implosion and credit tightening in China may trigger contagion whose tremor could cause a global double dip.
The annual EPRA (European Public Real Estate Association) conference in September covered what you’d expect — future prospects and opportunities for commercial real estate, investor insights and global trends in listed funds.
Transaction volume in Germany increased by 33 percent in the third quarter to €25.5 billion, according to Colliers International Germany, with more than half — €13 billion — of the investment volume targeting six markets: Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart.
The pension fund for Douwe Egberts, a multinational tea and coffee producer, will invest €75 million in Dutch residential mortgages and will make a corresponding reduction in its investment in government bonds in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria.
After pulling in two-thirds of investor capital raised in fund closings during the first half of 2014, mega-funds (raising at least $1 billion, or €800 million) are at it again, with just four funds pulling in 56.5 percent of the more than $20 billion (€16 billion) in fund closings during the third quarter.
European investment managers have recently launched and closed a number of funds, with an emphasis on retail and debt vehicles, as well as products targeting Germany and the United Kingdom.
Natixis has sold its Paris area office, Liberté et Coupole, in a sale-and-leaseback transaction for €162 million to Foncière des Régions.