Commercial property markets across Europe were described as "broadly stable" during the final quarter of 2011 in terms of rents and yields, CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) stated. The firm's report revealed prime yields and rents among the continent's commercial real estate sectors were largely unchanged throughout 2011. Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) research at CBRE Richard Holberton commented: "The overwhelming picture is one of stability, with movements in value both small and sporadic."
He noted prime assets are exhibiting resistance to the wider economic difficulties in Europe, but added "nervousness" among both occupiers and investors is preventing significant upward movement across all commercial sectors. Both the office and industrial markets experienced a marginal increase in yields during the final quarter of 2011, CBRE found, while retail properties saw yields fall slightly. The picture for rents was similar, with the cost of leasing industrial buildings or offices flat, while retail premises witnessed a small uptick in rents. Manchester and Berlin were the two cities where the biggest rental increases occurred, rising by 4.35 per cent and four per cent respectively.
Savills recently reported Germany's major office markets - Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg - reached a three-year high in terms of the take-up of space at the end of last year. Vacancy rates in the nation fell year-on-year, the firm noted, attributing this to high demand for offices coupled with a low level of new properties coming on to the market. The organisation also asserted its confidence in the appeal of commercial real estate investments in the country by predicting transaction volumes in the property market will exceed 20 billion euros (GBP 16.7 billion) in 2012.
According to Savills, deals worth 22.6 billion euros were carried out in 2011, a 20 per cent rise in the volume of commercial real estate purchases made during 2010. The firm highlighted "strong demand" from both domestic and international investors as one of the main reasons why Germany's commercial property sector is likely to perform well over the course of the next 12 months.
