Rental growth forecasts suggest that European property will outperform the UK across all sectors, an expert has claimed.
According to Morley European property head Ben Stirling, a total return of 6.6 per cent per annum is forecast between 2007 and 2011, an increase on the current income yield of five per cent for European property recorded in June, Investment Week reported.
Germany is one of the strongest European economies across all sectors, while the French market is attractive due to Paris office space, opportunities are present in retail on the Spanish market and southern Europe is also strong, Mr Stirling said.
Growth in the activity of pan-European investing over the last ten years also brought increased liquidity and transparency to Europe, a process that has been largely stock driven, he claimed.
"Stock selection is the key driver … 80 per cent of the assets are bottom up and only 20 per cent of the performance is top down."
Meanwhile, New Star has said there is buoyant growth in continental European office markets, such as Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and France, because improved economic growth has led to occupier demand and falling vacancy rates across most markets.