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Improving economic data and forecasts make for increasingly bright newspaper headlines in a continent that grew accustomed to worsening outlooks for over half a decade. One of the regions where this change in sentiment is clearly affecting real estate investment markets is Southern Europe. Spain and Italy showed 130% and 85% increases in transaction volumes during 2013, respectively. Of course, this is from a low basis, but it highlights the change in sentiment in a region that faced virtual illiquidity for years. Encouraging? Certainly, but a word of caution is also important for a region that still faces a protracted period of muted economic growth. Economic growth forecasts for both Spain and Italy are positive again for 2014 and the years thereafter but the level of growth keeps these markets at the lower end of Europe. So there are good reasons to explore this in more detail and to focus in this Europe Watch on Spain, for which better times are nearing. And, after the lack of Spanish medals in Sochi, we’re not only referring to this summer’s World Cup.
Source : CBRE Global Investors
