Europe set to outdo UK

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

More commercial property investments are to be found in continental Europe which is set to outperform the UK over the next few years, but there are still some UK sectors that are worth consideration

Following three years of strong outperformance, the UK property market faces more modest growth rates over the next five years prompting fund managers investing in the asset class to diversify into Europe. Total returns for the property market were up 18.8% in 2005, according to the IPD Monthly index, but that is set to drop to single digit figures over the course of this year. IPD forecasts that, between 2005 and 2009, the total average return will be 9.1% with growth this year estimated at 8.6% and 6.9% next year. Other estimates, while slightly more optimistic, are not much higher. For...