Report finds London real estate among the least attractive prospects in Europe

London’s real estate prospects for 2017 are among the least attractive in major European cities, according to PwC and ULI’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate report. The survey of 781 real estate professionals and investors across Europe put London in the bottom five in its ranking of cities based on investment prospects in 2017. Only Istanbul, Athens and Moscow ranked lower. Meanwhile four of the top five cities were in Germany, with Berlin topping the list. Although 90% of investors expected UK property values to fall in 2017, about two-thirds expected the fall to be moderate. The long-term view of London, according to the respondents, will rest on whether businesses choose to leave the capital. Across Europe, political volatility was the biggest worry for investors, with 45% of respondents saying they were “very concerned” about it. However, the uncertainty of upcoming elections and Brexit negotiations did not lead to a significant drop in confidence. A third of investors expected confidence to grow in 2017, a small fall from last year’s 37%. The survey reinforced the perception of real estate as a safe haven for yield chasers in a low-interest environment. But the longer rates stay low, the tighter the supply for property will become. Overall prospects 2017 Gareth Lewis, survey director of the Emerging Trends in Real Estate series, explains 2017’s new market realities in an exclusive article for Estates Gazette’s Global Real Estate Insight website. Click here to read more>> • To send feedback, e-mail karl.tomusk@estatesgazette.com or tweet @ktomusk or @estatesgazette