Real Estate & Commercial News in France from Propertyshowrooms.com

Paris a top target for commercial property investors

Thu, 8 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Paris is the most popular city in Europe among those seeking commercial property investments.

This is the finding of a new survey from CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), which revealed the French capital overtook London as the top investment choice in the second half of last year.

In the final six months of 2011, the amount of money spent on commercial real estate in Paris hit €7.9 billion (£6.6 billion), up significantly from the €3.6 billion registered in the previous half.

Central London wasn't far behind, attracting €7.8 billion in funds during the same period.

President of CBRE capital markets in France Antoine Derville commented: "Paris is attracting investment because of the depth of the market. With 54.5 million sq m of offices and a very low vacancy rate [...], take-up in 2011 was close to 2.5 million sq m."

Mr Derville added the boost to Paris's investment market at the end of 2011 was partially a result of new properties coming on to the market, noting there is still strong demand from buyers for prime assets.

Last month, managing director of the Villages Group Danny Silver highlighted France's status as a safe haven for real estate investment, pointing to its strong economy and the 0.2 per cent growth in gross domestic product recorded in the final quarter of 2011 as reasons why it remains attractive.

Rising investment in French commercial property

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

During the final three months of 2011, France recorded its highest commercial property transaction volume since the third quarter of 2007.

Figures released by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) revealed that investment in French commercial real estate climbed by 65 per cent between the third and fourth quarters of last year.

In total, €6.5 billion (£5.4 billion) was transacted between October and December 2011, making it the second most popular market in Europe after the UK.

The CBRE report stated: "Investment activity in France was heavily biased towards the Paris office sector and included large portfolio and single-asset deals."

According to the Savills European Office Markets bulletin released in autumn last year, yields for Parisian offices stood at just over five per cent in the third quarter of 2011.

The organisation noted that both demand and rents were on an upward trend at this time, while the supply of such real estate assets in the French capital was falling.

Head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa capital markets at CBRE Jonathan Hull stated that data from the final quarter indicates France, along with the UK, Germany and the Nordic nations, "are key to core strategies" among investors.

France and Germany tipped for commercial property investment

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

France and Germany have been tipped as hotspots for commercial property investment by Capital Economics.

Ed Stansfield, a property economist at the firm, said that France, along with the Nordic countries, stands out in terms of economic conditions and pricing.

This means investors could be advised to keep an eye out for Midi-Pyrenees property listings and Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur property for sale.

"Germany, from a purely top-down macroeconomic performance point of view, is going to be one of the best performing economies in Europe over the next couple of years," Mr Stansfield added.

"A lot of the data would suggest that the correction was very modest and therefore there is not a lot of potential for an upswing but, as a solid income producing investment, I think German property has got some attractions as well."

Mr Stansfield added that investors should be wary about buying property in nations which have an unstable economy at the moment.

Recent research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors highlighted that real estate professionals in 14 out of the 25 nations it surveyed thought that the number of distressed properties coming to the global commercial property market will continue to grow over the next three months.

Britons take the train to France

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A record number of leisure travellers are choosing to take the train to France, according to new figures.

Eurostar has revealed that in July 2008, passenger numbers rose by 16.8 per cent on the previous year to more than 900,000.

The recent introduction of a high-speed rail link between London and Paris was said to be one of the main reasons behind the increase.

Simon Montague, director of communications at Eurostar, stated that this is because it has helped draw customers away from airlines.

He commented: "Eurostar is persuading even habitual flyers to switch from plane to train for their holidays and business trips."

Mr Montague added that he is "delighted" that the monthly passenger numbers have broken previous records.

This comes after Eurostar revealed that passenger numbers during the first quarter of the year were 21.3 per cent higher than the amount recorded 12 months earlier.

Risk planning zones in France have major implications for property

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The French government is creating new planning zones to take into account the possible effects of natural disasters which have major implications for developers and property owners...

French firm quits Iran gas deal

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

French energy firm Total will not invest in Iran because it is too risky, the company's boss says in a newspaper interview...