Half-year transaction volumes across Europe have stayed relatively steady thanks to a bumper Q1, according to the latest figures from CBRE.
Investment volumes in rose by 2% in H1 2020 to €129bn (£117bn), despite Q2 volumes plummeting by 39% to just €43bn.
CBRE said the first-half volumes had been boosted by a number of large transactions in Germany, the UK and the Nordics in Q1. In Continental Europe (excluding the UK and Ireland), investment volumes for H1 2020 were up by 6% on the same period last year but down by 34% on Q2 2019.
While Q2 volumes were down across the region, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and CEE outperformed the 39% decline for Europe, recording declines of 20%, 17%, 23%, and 23% respectively.
On a month-by-month basis across Europe, May was most severely impacted by the various government-imposed lockdown measures and witnessed a significant decline in transaction activity. June saw a slight uptick as travel restrictions and lockdown measures began to be relaxed. This upward trend in volumes is expected to continue as Europe’s economy continues to recover.
Logistics and multifamily assets outperformed other sectors as investors, with multifamily investment now closing the gap with offices. Offices remains the largest asset class. Year-to-date investment volumes into multifamily reached €33bn, up by 37% on the same period last year. Investment into logistics reached €15bn in H1 2020, a 5% increase on the same period last year. Office transactions fell by 16% in H1 2020 to €41bn.
Retail saw the biggest decline in volumes, down by 25% in Q2, but up by 16% for the half-year due to a strong Q1 performance and a slow H1 2019.
Chris Brett, head of EMEA capital markets at CBRE (pictured), said: “Despite many countries across Europe entering into lockdown in early to mid-March, the true impact of the pandemic was not reflected until Q2, with May recording the greatest decline in activity.
“However, the uptick in investment we saw in June as restrictions began to be eased points to the start of a recovery. There is an abundance of capital ready to be deployed as limitations continue to be relaxed and we have seen very little movement in pricing for prime assets, particularly in the major gateway cities”
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