Savills EME Investor Sentiment Survey
According to a survey* of real estate investors with total assets under management (AuM) of over €800 billion conducted by Savills, more than half of respondents plan to increase their asset allocation to real estate in Europe and the Middle East in 2025. This significantly increases interest in the region – in 2024, only 35% of the investors surveyed signaled such an intention.
Southern Europe in particular is becoming increasingly attractive to investors. Spain is particularly in demand, having established itself as the most attractive investment destination, followed by the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Germany. All these countries were able to increase their attractiveness compared to the previous year.
While real estate in the range of 20 to 60 million euros continues to be the most sought-after among investors, Savills expects an increase in larger transactions towards the end of 2025 – especially due to further falling interest rates.
James Burke, Director Global Cross Border Investment at Savills, explains: “Logistics and residential real estate remain the preferred uses for investors, but at the same time, this year’s survey shows a significant increase in interest in office properties in key sub-markets, hotels, data centres and selected retail segments. This reflects a combination of opportunities through price adjustments, solid long-term fundamentals and the rebounding growth of total returns in certain market segments – particularly in the Eurozone.”
In addition, investors’ risk appetite is increasing. According to this year’s survey, 45% of respondents are willing to take on higher risks than before, up from only 28% last year who said they wanted to increase their risk appetite. Mike Barnes, Associate Director European Research at Savills, says: “Compared to the previous year, more and more investors are willing to adopt a ‘manage-to-ESG’ strategy. This can be partly explained by the significant reduction in the project development pipeline in Europe, as well as strong competition for prime real estate. As a result, more and more investors are willing to accept higher risk exposure in order to achieve their return targets.”
*The survey was conducted between 19 November 2024 and 6 January 2025 and included 40 cross-sectoral EME investors with combined real estate assets of more than €800 billion in Europe and the Middle East.
Spotlight: EME Investor Sentiment Survey
