It wasn’t too long ago that most European real estate investors stayed pretty close to home, investing either domestically or venturing cross-border only into neighbouring countries. Today, pan-European funds spanning the European Union’s 27 countries and beyond are commonplace, and investors are reaching well beyond the mature markets of western Europe to the emerging markets of central and eastern Europe (CEE).

“My God,” exclaims Sir George Parr, a leading investment banker in London and known to have his finger right on the pulse of the financial markets. He is explaining to his informed interviewer how the “sharp and sophisticated” market participants employed by leading investment banks, representing the finest minds in the worldwide business of money management, react to events; they come into work one day, look at their screens and say “My God. Something awful’s going to happen. What are we going to do? What arewe going to do?” And put their head in their hands.

In periods of uncertainty, real estate markets often have limited room for manoeuvre. If values are falling, the opportunities to manage changes in the risk profile of portfolios by transactions and policy alone are constrained.