Driven by strong activity in the UK and Germany, total real estate investment in Europe reached €70 billion in Q2 2021, representing an increase of 45% on the same period last year, according to the latest data from CBRE.
The standout market overall was the UK, where Q2 2021 investment activity saw a 279% increase on the same period last year, with investment totalling €16.8 billion. Germany also bounced back strongly in Q2, with €17.8 billion of total investment activity, up 27% on Q2 2020. Other markets showing positive recovery in Q2 include Denmark, Norway, Spain and Sweden.
Strong Q2 performance brings H1 2021 investment volumes in Europe to €125.6 billion, a 9% decrease from €138.7bn for the same period in 2020. Nevertheless, an overall positive trend is emerging, when factoring in that Q1 2020 was pre-Covid and the highest Q1 on record for the European Real Estate market.
With the partial lifting of travel restrictions in Europe, hotel investment volumes have also shown signs of recovery, rising 9% in H1 2021 to €6.4 billion on the same period last year. This activity was principally driven by Italy, France, UK, Germany and Spain.
“There has been a marked recovery in investment volumes across Europe. Countries that are more reliant on the office sector have generally demonstrated less of a bounce back than markets with robust industrial and multifamily sectors,” Chris Brett, managing director, capital markets, EMEA, said.
“Our expectation is that European investment volumes will continue to recover during H2, and for the full year will improve by up to 5% on the 2020 performance.”