Lenders’ attitudes towards office properties continue to improve. In particular, interest in first-class properties (“prime assets”) is experiencing a renaissance. This is the result of the new European Lender Intentions Survey* by the global real estate service provider CBRE.
Respondents rated office real estate as the third most attractive sector, three places higher than in the 2025 survey, in which they ranked sixth. By lender type, office real estate was outperformed by residential real estate by banks, indicating a renewed confidence in the fundamentals of the sector.
“For CBRE, office properties have been the most important asset class in debt raising over the past three years. The results of this year’s survey reflect the match between intent and actual market activity,” says Chris Gow, Head of Debt Advisory Europe at CBRE. “We are observing decreasing financing margins, which enable cheaper loans. At the same time, rising investment volumes in the office segment and the continued limited supply underline the strength of the sector.”
According to CBRE, the investment volume for office properties in Europe reached 10.7 billion euros in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of six percent compared to the same quarter last year. For 2025 as a whole, the volume amounted to 48.5 billion euros, an increase of 13 percent compared to the previous year. The Trocadéro office building in Paris, which CBRE sold last year, received the largest financing of a single property in Europe since the pandemic, illustrating the willingness of banks to finance large-volume office transactions.
“The residential sector continues to hold the top spot in the ranking, followed by industrial and logistics properties,” says Prof. Dr. Ralf J. Klann, Head of Debt and Structured Finance Germany. While few lenders cited data centers as their preferred sector, sentiment toward this segment has improved significantly. In addition, new financing has higher average loan-to-value ratios than in the previous year.
“Data centers are at the center of the digital infrastructure and the growth of artificial intelligence. Accordingly, lenders are increasingly turning their attention to this sector,” Klann continues. “At the same time, some market participants still lack the necessary conviction due to limited experience and industry knowledge.”
Similar to data centers, alternative real estate segments such as co-living, affordable housing, senior living, healthcare real estate, and self-storage are also gaining attention. 86 percent of lenders said they wanted to finance at least one of these alternative segments – an increase of five percentage points compared to the previous year. While banks prefer sub-segments close to homes, non-banks are much more open to investing across the entire spectrum of alternative types of use.
Almost three-quarters of lenders (72 percent) plan to expand their lending activities compared to the previous year. This indicates that liquidity in the real estate financing markets remains robust despite changes in macroeconomic conditions in Europe.
The study also shows a significantly increased willingness to provide debt capital for project developments. The proportion of lenders who want to offer such financing rose from 60 percent in 2025 to 69 percent in 2026. Among non-banks, this figure is as high as 81 percent, reflecting their higher risk appetite. Banks, on the other hand, focus almost exclusively on senior loans.
Dr. Jan Linsin, Head of Research Germany at CBRE, explains: “The uncertain geopolitical situation continues to preoccupy market participants. At the same time, declining investment volumes play a smaller role in lenders’ concerns than in previous years. Together with the improved sentiment across all real estate segments, this points to an improvement in the fundamentals of the real estate market.”
“For the second half of the year, we expect strong demand for new financing as banks and debt funds aim to meet their budget and allocation targets before the end of the year,” Klann concluded.
* The survey was conducted between March 18, 2026 and April 28, 2026. A total of 134 European-based market participants took part in the survey and provided information about their expectations regarding lending, financing conditions and preferred real estate sectors in 2026.
