VIENNA and LONDON, Oct. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- During the Corona crisis and beyond, real estate investments in the metropolises of Europe remain in high demand: this is the result of a survey conducted in September 2020 by the German opinion research institute Kantar among 400 institutional investors in Great Britain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. 100 investment professionals from insurance companies, banks, capital investment companies and public funds were surveyed in each country. The English capital, London, came in first place among the most popular cities to invest in: 39 percent of investors consider it the most attractive location in Europe. It is followed by Berlin (35 percent) and Vienna (23 percent).
The participants were to chose from a total of ten European metropolises, up to three entries were possible. Across all countries, 88 percent of the participants are convinced that residential property investments in European capitals will not lose their attractiveness in the next five years. For British professional investors, London ranks at the top of the list of top investment cities with 67 percent. However, they are also closely following what is happening in the German real estate market in particular: with 29 percent, Berlin comes in second place in terms of preferred locations, followed by Amsterdam with 22 percent.
The developer Wiener Komfortwohnungen commissioned the survey to gain comprehensive insights into the market assessments, needs and investment criteria of institutional investors. Managing Director Alexander Finster sees the results as confirmation of his company's strategy. "The enormous demand for housing and construction in major European cities is met investor-side by the need to invest financial resources safely and profitably, especially in turbulent times," he says. "Bringing these interests together is the key to the urgently needed societal response to the mega-trend of urbanization." Wiener Komfortwohnungen are currently realising a large new development North of the Austrian capital, 15 minutes from the city centre of Vienna.
Relaxed despite Corona - trend towards a higher proportion of residential properties
According to the survey, the economic consequences of the corona pandemic so far have not unsettled most investors: almost two thirds of those surveyed (63 percent) say they have no plans to change their investment behavior in real estate or to reallocate within the portfolio - especially German (72 percent) and British (63 percent) investors tend to stick with their previous strategy. Around a quarter of those surveyed (25 percent) in the four countries want to increase the proportion of residential properties in their portfolio. Only eight percent are considering reallocating in favor of commercial real estate.
For the overwhelming majority of all respondents (88 percent), the location of a property remains the decisive selection criterion. In Vienna, as well as in other metropolitan regions, investors are increasingly relying on residential quarters in the so-called bacon belts or suburbs: Among the investment professionals surveyed, the "metropolitan region" came in second place among the preferred locations, with 34 percent of the mentions after "inner city location / city centre" (46 percent). Especially among British investors, the suburbs are even slightly more popular (43 percent) than the inner city locations (42 percent).
Wiener Komfortwohnungen's Managing Director Finster is convinced that the areas surrounding major cities will attract even more attention from investors and the construction industry in the coming years. "The growth and densification potential of the city centres has been exhausted, so that demand is inevitably shifting to new, suburban centres with good infrastructure and connections," he says.
About Wiener Komfortwohnungen
The property developer Wiener Komfortwohnungen GmbH is specialised in the development and realisation of high quality residential real estate in the metropolitan region of Vienna. To this end, it utilises the decades of experience within its team. The developments of the Wiener Komfortwohnungen range from classic residential buildings in the up-market segment with serviced apartments, called "comfort-ready apartments" by Wiener Komfortwohnungen, up to assisted living.
More information under www.wienerkomfortwohnungen.at.
Further details regarding the results of the study under: https://www.wienerkomfortwohnungen.at/en/presse/
Contact for press inquiries:
Michaela Hebein
Kapp Hebein Partner GmbH | A - 1010, Tuchlauben 8/11
T: +4312350422-70 | E: mh@khpartner.at
