European real estate investors turn to Nordics

Approximately 94 percent of investors plan to maintain or increase their allocation to the Nordics in 2017, the highest of any European market, according to a study by Intertrust.

The research highlights that the United Kingdom and Germany are also set to continue to attract real estate investor capital, with 90 percent and 93 percent of investors, respectively, planning to maintain or increase their allocation.

The Italian real estate market came in last with only 16 percent of investors saying they would be increasing their allocation in 2017, with 22 percent likely to reduce their exposure.

While investor appetite for real estate over the next 12 months remains robust, the findings suggest investors have limited appetite to move further up the risk curve by investing in sectors such as emerging markets or earlier in the planning and construction process.

Only 30 percent of investors said they would consider pursuing a riskier strategy compared with 56 percent who prefer to maintain their existing risk appetite.

Intertrust’s research shows that 91 percent of real estate investors expect that the outcome of the French presidential election will influence their investment decisions in the coming 12 months with 56 percent saying a victory for Marine Le Pen would mean any decisions regarding the sale of existing assets would be delayed.

According to the findings, the German federal election, the current U.S. White House administration and Brexit negotiations will influence the investment decisions taken by 73 percent, 68 percent and 58 percent of real estate investors, respectively, over the next 12 months.