During the first quarter of 2015, approximately 2,359 European properties were sold for a total of €63.8 billion in sales price, according to Real Capital Analytics, a 57 percent increase compared with the deals completed during Q1 2014.

The top five markets for investors’ capital included two gateway cities — London and Paris — and the regional markets of Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom continued to be the largest investment market, specifically London, which recorded 139 closed deals for a total investment volume of €10.9 billion. London will always be a market where investors are willing to pay top prices for prime real estate. The quarter showed a slight increase in sales activity compared with the previous quarter. The fourth quarter of 2014 had 146 completed deals and €10.8 billion in sales volume.

The high level of competition is also driving up prices in secondary markets. UK markets outside London followed in second