PARIS: A SURE VALUE
Eastern Europe is emerging among the choices of property investors. The most recent Emerging Trends in Real Estate barometer for Europe 2008, published by PricewaterhouseCoopers and ULI, places Moscow and Istanbul in the two first positions as the most attractive cities for property investment. They came in ahead of Hamburg and Munich, which took 3rd and 4th place, and most of all Paris which is holding on to 5th . “Contrary to the 2007 ranking, that of 2008 is more strongly based on the investment recommendations than the level of risk associated. That explains why Paris, the least risky city, is fifth, since investors anticipate less growth in Paris than in Moscow and Istanbul, cities with higher risk levels,” explains Geoffroy Schmitt, head of property consulting for PricewaterhouseCoopers in France.
In the current context, the French capital is fairing fairly well in comparison to London in particular while is falling, dropping from 2nd to 15th place. “London is currently experiencing difficulties due to its high prices and dependence on the finance and financial service professions impacted by the financial crisis,” commented Geoffroy Schmitt.
The study emphasizes that Paris thus retains its position as leader in the ranking of least risky cities and maintains its essential quality as an overall access point for the European investment property market. So, the 500 investors interviewed recommend keeping office assets and retail and industrial premises, arguing that rent values, occupancy rates and the level of demand are on the rise. “Paris has a greater diversity of sectors, which mitigates the risks of prices dropping because of the subprime crisis such as London experienced in fourth quarter 2007,” continued Schmitt. “And France still has a favorable tax environment with the rise in power of property mutual funds,” added Bruno Lunghi, head of property tax consulting for Landwell, PWC's correspondant law firm in France. It is perhaps in part this calmer environment that explains Lyon's good standing in investors’ intentions. Lyon was ranked sixth, just after Paris. The study emphasized the stability of its market with a high level of recommendations both to buy and to conserve, between 80% to 90% for commercial property.
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