German real estate tops list of investor favourites - KPMG
Global investors have ranked Germany as their top real estate investment destination for the next 12 months, according to the latest KPMG Real Estate Invest Survey 2014. The UK came in in third place, with the USA in fifth.
The international consulting group asked institutional investors about their investment plans for the coming year. 81% responded that they intended raising their allocation to real estate, while 71% said that the country with the best opportunities was Germany, followed by 45% voting for Spain in 2nd place. The UK was third with 42%, followed by France with 29%, just ahead of the USA.
With the survey methodology having changed since 2013, direct comparisons are not possible, although last year London topped the list. This year cities were replaced with countries in the survey questionnaire.
Among asset categories, 81% of investors named their favoured category as office, 65% for retail, 26% for residential, and a similar amount of 26% for industrial and logistics properties over the next twelve months. Not surprisingly given the higher prices and lower yield perspectives, prime and core properties had lost ground versus last year, with investors leaning towards more speculative strategies.