It seems anyone can take a survey and put a positive or negative spin on the results.
For example, in the case of the Bloomberg Markets Global Investor Poll, although Bloomberg’s headline ran with “Europe Deflation Risk Seen by 74% in Global Investor Poll”, which was the case, the overall sentiment of the survey was positive. Here are some highlights:
- In terms of economies measured on a scale: 34 percent see the euro zone as stable and 49 percent see it as improving, whereas only 15 percent see it as deteriorating.
- In terms of best and worst markets for the coming year, United Kingdom and the European Union had a combined score of 50 percent for best market versus a combined score for worst market of 14 percent. Clearly the bulls are strong here.
Here at Institutional Real Estate, Inc., we are hearing and seeing investors taking a positive look at Europe. The first quarter issue of our FundTracker publication just came out with the headline: “2014 fundraising off to a great start: Europe-focused funds account for 50% of quarter’s $22 billion total.” Where is it flowing in Europe?
“… valued-oriented investments where investors are banking on improving economies to bolster property fundamentals and generate healthy returns.”
In the May issue of The Institutional Real Estate Letter – Europe, we highlighted CBRE’s 2014 European Real Estate Investor Intentions Survey. The tone of the report was that investors are moving out the risk curve. One example of increased risk appetite was Spain becoming a favorite destination of new investors; 19 percent of investors saw it attractive this year from just 6 percent in 2013.
Although we are having some mixed signals at the moment, it seems that the positive factors are outweighing the bad and momentum is building for better days ahead in Europe.
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John Hunt is conference program manager at Institutional Real Estate, Inc.
