A new report by Jones Lang LaSalle has highlighted that Europe enjoyed high levels of direct investment in the commercial sector in the first three months of 2013.
Following on from a nice end to 2012, large deals made in the UK, Germany and France helped to boost numbers and attract further attention from overseas investors. When it came to global cities, London, Moscow and Paris all made it in the top ten, with just these three cities contributing $11.5 billion (£7.56 billion) towards the $40 billion (£26.3 billion) that was totally invested in the first quarter.
It is also important to note that half of these deals in the three cities were from foreign investors who are seeking to gain a stake-hold in the European market, as around $3 billion (£1.97 billion) came into Europe from North America alone.
Take-up was helped with much larger trades having been made. This means that the average estate transaction in Europe is now up to €47 million (£39.9 million), compared to €40 million (£33.9 million) a year ago. Deals that were above the 100 million mark had also increased by 59 per cent.
Richard Bloxam, head of European Capital Markets at Jones Lang LaSalle, said: "Buyers are scrambling for opportunities in the largest European commercial real estate markets and this strong competition for the best product means we have seen a widening of search criteria, including location, asset class and risk level."
Even though a year's first quarter is always the quietest in the commercial sector, the $105 billion (£69.1 billion) of transactions which were recorded globally is the highest first quarter seen for five years since the global financial crisis hit in 2008. This boost in activity has therefore forced Jones Lang LaSalle to up its yearly forecast, estimating that total global volumes may end up reaching $500 billion (£328.8 billion) by the end of the year.