According to a new report by research firm Real Capital
Analytics, the European commercial property market enjoyed a really
positive year in 2014, with transactions rising by 13 per cent when
compared to 2013.

213.1 billion euros worth of transactions took place across
Europe, with the British, German and French markets all enjoying
years that were as high as any since the onset of the financial
crisis.

Paris was the hottest performing city.  The French capital
is seen by many as a safe haven, with investment rising by 31
percent as a result.  Even more impressively, the capital
attracted 74 cents of each Euro invested in the French market
overall.

RCA director of EMEA analytics Tom Leahy said:

"Political and economic uncertainty in France deterred investors
in 2012 and 2013, leaving assets in Paris attractively priced
relative to the other core investment markets of western
Europe,"

Commercial property performance in the UK was also positive,
with renewed investment taking place in cities such as Manchester,
Leeds and Glasgow.  Interestingly, London investment actually
slipped by 3 per cent, but overall there was an increase of 16 per
cent.

German investment displayed a similar pattern, with volumes in
major cities such as Berlin, Munich and Hamburg falling but
second-tier markets such as Stuttgart, Cologne and the Ruhr Valley
rising.

The two biggest areas of improvement in Europe were actually
Ireland and Spain, with volumes increasing by a substantial 89 and
134 per cent respectively.

The most notable fall was in Russia, where transactions dropped
by 48 per cent in terms of volume.

The European Central Bank has made a decision to pump hundreds
of billions of stimulus money into the region's economy, and it is
hoped that this decision will lead to continuing positive
performance in the future.

"Quantitative easing will lower interest rates for an extended
period of time to support real estate investment in the euro zone,
while the weaker euro may attract more international investors to
buy assets," said Simon Mallinson, managing director for RCA in
Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

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