Overall European Investment Increases 27% Year-On-Year

According to the latest research from global real estate advisor CBRE, European CRE investment totalled €48.4 billion in Q3 2014 - a substantial 27% increase on Q3 2013 and 4% higher than the previous quarter. For the year-to-date, total investment has reached €133 billion compared to €105 billion for the first three quarters of 2013, an uplift of 27%.

The performance of Irish and Spanish CRE investment markets was particularly impressive in Q3 2014. Ireland achieved its highest total ever this quarter with €1.6 billion, surpassing the previous high in Q3 2006 of €1.5 billion and in Spain, the €3.5 billion invested in Q3 2014 was the country’s second highest quarter on record.

CRE investment activity in other upcoming markets was also strong in Q3 2014, with the Netherlands (35%), Italy (40%) and Portugal (54%) all recording significant year-on-year increases.

The quarterly investment volume in the Netherlands amounted € 1,9 billion. The total volume for the current year has now passed the € 6 billion. The market was mainly driven by residential and office transactions. Almost € 800 million has been invested in the office market, with the sale of the portfolio of CBRE Global Investors to Lone Star being the most important.

The core markets of UK and Germany continue to show strong growth, with both countries recording increases of over 20% compared to both the previous quarter and Q3 2013. In both countries investors are increasingly active outside of the major centres – London and the “Big-5” German cities – to the benefit of regional markets.

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