Avner Motaev looks into news about changing demand for property in Europe in the new year.
Changes to Europe’s cities have resulted in ‘diversifying’ demand from investors this year, according to a new report from a major real estate consultancy firm.
I’ve decided to look further into the news and find out more about the report.
Asset class changes
‘Themes for European Property 2016’, published by Savills, highlights that a quarter of commercial real estate investment in the region was outside of the ‘traditional’ office and retail sectors and included facilities for Europe’s ageing population as well as student accommodation in larger cities.
Commenting on this, Lydia Brissy of Savills said:
“What is principally fuelling investor interest, however are the inevitable demographic changes across the continent.
The ageing population in Europe and the profile and affluence level of ageing ‘baby boomers’ means that there is a need for more and improved healthcare facilities.”
As for Europe’s young population, especially students, there are also changes afoot in regards to real estate. Commenting on a trend of healthy investment in student properties in Europe, Lydia Brissy comments:
“We expect this trend to continue to expand in megacities such as London, Paris and Madrid, where younger generations are being priced out of the housing market, but also in growing innovation hubs such as Dublin, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Stockholm”
Clearly, changes are afoot thanks to shifting demographics in Europe, and this is beginning to affect the real estate market to a rather large extent.
As for retail properties such as warehouses, there are changes predicted as e-commerce sites (and the vast stock warehouses needed to fuel them) continue to dominate the retail landscape.
Marcus Lemli of Savills comments:
“There will be increased investor interest in the logistics industry in order to support this burgeoning online retail sector, with the US likely to show particular appetite for a new breed of warehouses”
In conclusion, it’s becoming ever-clearer that demographic and economic changes are effecting the real estate industry across Europe.
Avner Motaev
Avner Motaev is the director of Mobile2Business, a provider of telecommunications solutions to businesses in Austria. Mobile2Business is an official business partner of T-Mobile.