Investment in the European commercial property sector is set to rise by as much as 42 per cent by the end of this year, Reuters has reported. Global real estate consultancy DTZ claims that investment volumes will reach EUR 89 billion at the close of 2010 and go on to hit EUR 109 billion by the end of 2011.
DTZ said that earlier this week commercial real estate sales in the continent surpassed the EUR 63 billion mark for the first nine months of the year and any further growth will primarily be driven by an increase in cross-border activity.
"The underlying trend is one of growth and we expect to see this continue next year with a further increase in investment activity," said Tony McGough, global head of forecasting and strategy research. "Europe remains the main target for capital investment with increasing levels of activity expected from overseas investors."
Meanwhile, Magali Marton, head of central Europe, Middle East and Africa research at the company, said that while only 21 per cent of the activity so far this year was by intra-regional investors, this figure is set to rise in the future.