19
COVER STORY
and residential real estate continues is due
primarily to two factors: the economy in
the largest EU country is robust (econom-
ic growth in 2016: 1.9 percent, 2017: 1.4
percent) and the political situation is sta-
ble. Political observers are convinced that
Angela Merkel will remain Federal Chan-
cellor after the election this autumn. It is
still up for discussion which partners, the
SPD or perhaps the Green Party, she will
form a coalition with.
In the USA, on the other hand, the
election ended with a huge surprise. Bil-
lionaire Donald Trump emerged as the
victor of the election, causing a stir on fi-
nancial markets. His plans to modernize
the infrastructure and financing it with
higher government debt caused bond
yields for US government bonds to rise.
Moreover, the Federal Reserve wants to
increase interest rates. For investors from
abroad, government bonds will again
become more attractive as an alternative
to real estate, especially since the euro
should continue to lose ground against
the greenback. “Nevertheless, we expect
stronger real estate exposure of conserva-
tive American investors like pension funds
in Europe,” assumes Matthias Pink, Head
of Research at real estate service provider
Savills. The distribution of these invest-
ments is certainly also influenced by the
manner in which Britain will leave the EU
and the form that economic and financial
relations between the United Kingdom
and the Continent will take.
“London will most certainly lose its
importance as a financial center,” observes
Peter Schreppel, Head of International
Investments at CBRE. However, it re-
6.6
The largest group of investors
in German commercial proper-
ties last year was the Ameri-
cans with a purchase volume
of EUR 6.6 billion, ahead of the
French (EUR 3.6 billion) and the
British (EUR 2.7 billion).
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