Boom town becomes slump city as report says 'no' to Dublin property
By Ailish O'Hora
Wednesday March 12 2008
Dublin has slumped to the bottom of a list of 27 European cities in a new report which looks at property and investment prospects in 2008.
According to the report, from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers, more traditionally popular western European cities have lost ground on the list against the backdrop of economic woes in the US leading to higher risk and tighter credit.
The capital's property and investment prospects will suffer in 2008, according to the report, entitled Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2008. It added that Dublin's office, hotel and retail sectors had the highest or second highest sell levels of the 27 markets this year.
Prospects
The report also showed that investment prospects in Dublin reached a peak in 2006 and have been falling since.
Dublin dropped seven places to 27th in 2008 in terms of overall European investment and development while London experienced a dramatic slump to 15th place compared with second in 2007.
"Without question, Europe is facing a bumpier ride this year than the last few years," said Richard Rosan, president, ULI Worldwide.
"The findings in Emerging Trends show how markets in Europe have become more globally connected and more vulnerable to economic shifts occurring in other parts of the world. "However, the fact that many respondents remain confident about European markets points to the still-local nature of real estate.
"We are seeing a lot of guarded optimism."
The top end of the league also had its surprises. Moscow made an impressive leap in the survey to top of the league in 2008 compared with 19th place last year based on high rental growth and the opportunities retail offers.
The report states that while Moscow is seen as a challenging city with market entry more difficult than other countries, its investment prospects are likely to remain high.
Istanbul ranked second while Hamburg and Munich held the third and fourth spots as top investment markets.
Paris, which held the top investment rating in the past years, slipped slightly, taking fifth place for investment prospects and sixth for development prospects.
An improvement in Germany's economy is reflected in the inclusion of four German cities -- Hamburg, Munich, Berlin and Frankfurt -- on the list of top 10 investments.
"Despite all the turbulence in the international markets, the Germany property market is still on the upturn," according to the report.
Other cities listed as strong "buy" markets included Paris, Lyon, Stockholm and Helsinki while Prague and Warsaw have been listed as development prospects.
- Ailish O'Hora
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