Insurance News Archive

European commercial property 'to attract billions in 2009'

The commercial property market in Europe is predicted to attract billions of euros worth of new equity in 2009.

Estimates from real estate broker Jones Lang LaSalle forecast that over 50 billion euros (£45 billion) will be spent on commercial buildings next year as institutions and sovereign wealth funds will look to take advantage of discounted prices.

Investment in top-end central London properties dropped by over two-thirds in 2008 to £6.8 billion, according to a report from Cushman and Wakefield.

"Some markets like London, Paris and Madrid are well advanced in their market corrections and will no doubt attract increased investor interest if the fundamentals are judged to support the new price levels," said Nigel Roberts, chairman of European research at Jones Lang LaSalle.

Average values in Europe are thought to have declined by about 30 per cent in the last year.

This week, Paul Bradley, spokesperson for the Spanish Property Owners Guild, predicted that house prices in Spain will fall by another 15 per cent in 2009, following a 16 per cent decline in values last year.

08 Jan 2009