REC Contributor
The year started so well for Greece. ULI’s and PwC’s Emerging Trends survey placed Athens among Europe’s top five cities for investment in 2015, rising 23 places to join Berlin, Hamburg, Dublin and Madrid.
After several barren years, 2014 had seen the NBG Pangaea REIC deal and big disposals by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund. Tentative optimism was returning to the battered Greek economy and to the real estate industry. With interest in Ireland and Spain having an impact on values, the risk/return offered in Greece finally started to make sense.
Then came January’s election, Syriza and Yanis Varoufakis became household names outside Greece, and everything stopped.
Some of the world’s largest institutions and sovereign wealth funds are flocking to Japan.
European real estate is back in vogue, but the market that has returned no longer resembles that of the pre-crisis boom. ING Real Estate Finance’s John Boyles, Jan-Evert Post, Mike Shields and Peter Göbel look at the drivers of this new paradigm.