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“European commercial real estate investment turnover reached €19.1 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2010, a 65% increase on the €11.6 billion transacted in Q1 2009, according to the latest data from CB Richard Ellis (CBRE). This extends the general recovery in investment activity that began in the latter part of 2009, with almost all European markets reporting turnover increases over Q1 2009. As expected, however, the Q1 2010 figures showed a decline compared to Q4 2009 volumes. As the last few months of the year are traditionally the most active, with investors pushing to complete transactions by the year-end, this quarterly decline is consistent with normal seasonal patterns.
Despite an overall quarterly decline, several markets experienced a quarter-on-quarter increase in activity, most notably Germany, Iberia and the Nordic region. This was driven by an upturn in investment in the retail sector, which accounted for more than half of the total transacted in each of these markets in Q1. Retail property has featured strongly in the European market generally in 2010. Accounting for 42% of the total investment volume in Q1 2010, retail surpassed office investment activity.
In contrast, France and the UK reported more moderate levels of activity in Q1 2010. In both cases, while investment was higher than in Q1 2009, it was lower than in Q4 2009 and below 2009’s quarterly average. France in particular saw investment levels held back by a lack of product and was one of the key markets where offices continued to dominate, comprising around 65% of the total turnover” (CS della Società)
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