Transaction volumes of European commercial property have risen 25% year-on-year, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
A total of €28.4bn of European commercial property changed hands in the first quarter of this year.
The agent said that yields stabilised in many markets, falling only four basis points across the region following a 13 basis points yield shift in the last quarter of 2010. CEE yields, however, fell 17 basis points during the first quarter, compared with two basis points in the west. C&W said equity rather than debt was the driver behind the increased activity.
Prime rental growth across all sectors in Europe stood at 1.8% in the year to March, but growth in the first quarter was at an annualised rate of 3.1%, led by emerging eastern markets and by the office and industrial sectors more than retail. This was the fourth quarter of positive growth and the strongest three-month period since Q2 2008, Cushman said.
