Central Europe keeps building up
Central European real estate has attracted investment attention across property sectors, as investors snap up retail, office and even hotel assets in the more established markets of the region.
Central European real estate has attracted investment attention across property sectors, as investors snap up retail, office and even hotel assets in the more established markets of the region.
As 2014 came to an end, a number of European real estate funds held final closes.
Southern Europe has begun to see increasing interest on the part of investors. A number of major portfolio sales have been transacted in Italy, Spain and Portugal.
With 40 stations linking Reading in the west through London’s city centre and out to Essex in the east, the Crossrail project is transforming the real estate landscape around the British capital. Infrastructure investment has both a short-term benefit as a form of government stimulus and long-term benefits in terms of improving a country’s attractiveness and efficiency. So how can property investors and developers make the most of new infrastructure?
Crossrail is London’s first through mainline east-west railway, with 40 stations from Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east to Reading and Heathrow airport in the west.
For global investors of all persuasions there is one great certainty: interest rates will rise at some point. Since the recession, western governments have maintained rates at exceptionally low levels — in most countries, close to zero — so there is only one way that they can go and that is up.
The Dutch residential sector is one of the most promising segments of the European property market. It is characterised by a unique blend of cyclical turnaround potential, constructive structural reform and favourable supply/demand fundamentals. The sector is quickly transitioning from being a niche market — the preserve of domestic investors and housing associations — into one of the most discussed “outside-the-box” targets in European real estate.
Is Germany still the economic engine of Europe? Despite the unstable geopolitical outlook and the weak economic growth situation in the European Union, the hopes of euro-optimists remain with Germany. However, the economic engine of the country is no longer running so smoothly.
Real estate is an ideal investment for those who take a long-term view, such as European charities, endowments, foundations and family offices. Real estate’s performance over the long term, both on an absolute and a relative basis, has been very good.
Europe will recover, but it will be excruciatingly slow. Investors with a long-term horizon should do fine. Those looking to time the market might find that there is no market to time. It’s just steady as she goes.