“Real estate investment in Spain grew by 9% in 2017, two points more than in Europe”

Investment in the real estate market continues at the rate that began in 2015. At the end of last year, Europe reached 234,000 million euros in real estate investment, an increase of 7% over 2016. According to data from the consultancy Savills Aguirre Newman, The markets that experienced a greater increase in the Old Continent were Austria, with 74% growth, Romania (54%), the Netherlands (46%) and Denmark (32%). Spain, for its part, recorded an investment volume of 9,200 million, 9% more than the previous year.

During the past year, 50% of this investment was made in the European real estate market, 50% came from outside Europe, compared to 44% in 2016. Asian investors were the most active. However, the Americans were responsible for the main operations in Continental Europe. Domestic investors were the most active in secondary areas, with more favorable returns.

In the case of Spain, cross-border investors accounted for 65% of the total, compared to 56% in 2016. The volume was just over 6,000 million euros, according to Savills Aguirre Newman, 21% more than in 2016.

Marcus Lemli, head of European Investment at Savills, believes that “the tendency of foreign capital to look for high-value assets will remain in 2018” and more Asian investors “coming from London to compete for assets in Continental Europe” are expected. Also, Lamli forecasts “opportunistic” investors and what may cause an increase in prices in cities and secondary locations, such as Manchester, Rotterdam or Dusseldorf in the case of Germany.

Source: Idealista