Investors pressed pause on real estate investments over the summer

Many investors have paused their real estate allocation decisions over the summer in order to assess the state of the European market.

Lee McDowell, fund manager of the M&G European Secured Property Income Fund, said that valuation falls in the bond markets, as a consequence of interest rate rises, have caused some investors to sit back and "digest" what this may mean for their overall portfolios and investments into real estate.

"It has been a difficult environment for the last three months or so," said McDowell. "And so a number of investors have taken the summer off to reassess their positions."

Nevertheless, McDowell remains positive about the overall health of real estate investment and long-income property in particular. "In the longer term, the potential for real estate remains very positive," he predicted. "The sector trends that we have seen over the last few years will continue. We invest on a long-term basis, and the market opportunity remains ve