Germany among the world's top four for international real estate capital
According to Colliers' latest Global Capital Flows Report, global real estate investments continued to pick up speed in the second quarter of 2026. At the end of the quarter, the transaction volume for existing properties was 21.2 percent above the previous year's level. In the first quarter, growth was still 15.2 percent. Investment activity now reaches 96.5 percent of the five-year average.
However, the recovery does not affect all markets and types of use equally. Investors are focusing primarily on segments with long-term stable demand and value creation potential. EMEA remains the most important destination region for cross-border real estate capital, accounting for 57 per cent of activity within the top 20 investment markets. Investment volumes in the region were 14.8 per cent higher in the second quarter than in the previous year and reached 93 per cent of the five-year average.
Germany continues to be one of the most important investment destinations
In the past twelve months, around 14.2 billion US dollars of cross-border real estate capital flowed into Germany. This corresponds to fourth place in the global ranking. Germany's share of global cross-border volume is 7.6 per cent, compared with a five-year average of 8.7 per cent. The USA has replaced Great Britain at the top, Japan has moved up to third place. France and Spain in particular have also gained market share.
Michael R. Baumann, Head of Capital Markets Germany at Colliers, says: "Germany remains a central investment location and continues to be one of the most important destinations for cross-border capital. The strength of the German market lies in its broad diversification across locations and types of use. At the same time, growth segments such as data centers or student housing are opening up new opportunities for investors."
Office leads investment volume in EMEA
In EMEA, the highest investment volume is accounted for by office properties on a 24-month average of around 59 billion US dollars. Multifamily comes to 57 billion US dollars, industrial and logistics properties to 49 billion US dollars. Worldwide, on the other hand, Multifamily is in the lead with a share of 24.2 percent, followed by industry and logistics with 22.6 percent and office with 21.2 percent.
High-quality value-add office investments are increasingly in the focus of investors in EMEA. In addition, interest is focused on data centers and digital infrastructure, living including student housing, and industrial and logistics real estate. Data centers have grown particularly strongly, with their investment volume in EMEA rising from $3 billion to $10 billion from the first to the second quarter.
Value Add remains the most important investment strategy
The focus is also shifting in fundraising. Europe's share of global real estate capital rose from 16 to 21 percent. Overall, global fundraising reached USD 93 billion in the first half of the year, 16 percent below the previous year's figure, which was characterized by exceptionally high capital commitments for data center strategies. Value add remains the most important global investment strategy at 39 percent. At the same time, the share of opportunistic strategies rose from 12 percent in the first quarter to 28 percent in the middle of the year.
For the second half of the year, Colliers expects key interest rates to remain largely stable in the major markets. Since risk-free interest rates are likely to remain well above the level of the years 2010 to 2021, Colliers expects only limited yield compression in commercial real estate.
