European real estate transaction activity was down by 10 percent in the second quarter of 2026, when compared with the same period in 2025, according to the latest MSCI Europe Capital Trends report.
Deals for data centres between April and the end of June fell by 57 percent year-over-year, while there was a 60 percent drop in sales in the broad senior housing and care home sector. Industrial also saw a decline in transactions at 34 percent, which resulted in the sector posting its lowest investment first half level since 2017.
Retail deals, in contrast, rose by 8 percent, while apartments recorded a healthy 27 percent growth rate, bringing its increase for the first half of 2026 to 15 percent. MSCI says this was made possible in part by consolidation in the UK student housing market and investor confidence in residential within the Netherlands and Spain. The latter country was also the one geographical market bucking the trend of a decline in activity. Apartme
