In 2006 a total of €26 billion was transacted in Continental European retail real estate, up by 77% on 2005 (€14.6bn) and more than three times higher than in 2004, according to new research by Jones Lang LaSalle.
The number of transactions in 2006 was up by two thirds compared with the previous year: Jones Lang LaSalle recorded some 420 transactions in 2006 compared with 249 in 2005.
The last quarter of 2006 was particularly active: some €10 billion, nearly 40% of the total volume for the year, was transacted between October and December. Over 200 investors bought retail property in 2006, with the top ten investors accounting for a third of the total investment volume.
Jeremy Eddy, Director in European Retail Capital Markets at Jones Lang LaSalle commented: "The last twelve months have witnessed no slowdown in the unrelenting demand for retail real estate across Europe, particularly in the core markets of Germany, Spain, Poland and Italy. Investor interest is moving further east and we have seen the first major transactions taking place in Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Croatia and the new EU member states of Romania and Bulgaria. We forecast more of the same in 2007, with the market remaining as competitive as it has been over the past two years. The main drivers of this geographical diversification by investors are yield margins and asset management opportunities."
Source: Jones Lang LaSalle
