Germany and Russia are the top performers in the RICS Global Commercial Property Survey for the second quarter of 2012. However, RICS cautions that there are expectations Germany will improve at a more modest pace in comparison to previous quarters.
Germany and Russia are the top performers in the RICS Global Commercial Property Survey for the second quarter of 2012. However, RICS cautions that there are expectations Germany will improve at a more modest pace in comparison to previous quarters.
Indeed, the crisis in the eurozone is now raising concerns as to whether the German economy and its real estate market can continue to buck the more gloomy picture pervading much of the rest of Europe, RICS said.
Significantly, the survey indicates that signs of stress are spreading from the periphery to other markets. Greece, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, France and Italy in particular showed signs of distress during this quarter of the year, with both sentiment and activity levels suffering on the back of elevated uncertainty.
Russia and France saw available space continue to rise; however, whilst in Russia occupier demand continued to increase, albeit at a slower pace, in France occupier demand declined.
Poland's absence from the top of the rankings is notable and comes on the back of sub-par economic growth performance. Available space continues to increase which is contributing to a slightly softer rental picture.
Developments in Europe's investment market also took a slight turn for the worse, with only six countries recording increases in investment demand and only Germany reporting positive capital value expectations compared to four previously.
The investment market in Poland, influenced by the weakness of its zloty, lost momentum with enquiries and capital value expectations easing a little following a couple of years of strong gains.
With respondents acting more cautiously in both the occupier and investment markets, expectations for the eurozone are even gloomier for Q3.
