The rate of shopping centre development in Europe is slowing, with completions down 23% year-on-year at 3.8 million sqm 2017, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest European Shopping Centres report.

The overall European logistics yield dropped 14bps to 5.95% in Q2 2018, the first time it has fallen below 6% since Cushman & Wakefield began consistently tracking the three main property sectors in 1992, according to the firm’s DNA of Real Estate report.

Prologis Europe ended the second quarter with record occupancy at 97.2 percent, notably through improved demand in its Southern markets. During the quarter, the company signed 343,000 square metres of new leases and 631,000 square metres of lease renewals to its operating and development portfolio.

Governments worldwide have been gradually forging greater transparency in real estate markets, addressing growing demands from investors and the public to deliver significant change. JLL’s Global Real Estate Transparency Index reports slow but steady progress driven by increased regulations and new technology.

On June 5, 2018, Immochan becomes Ceetrus. A symbol of the transformation that the company has been going through for two years, this new name is meant to embody its evolution from a commercial real estate company to a mixed-use real estate developer.

Hansainvest Real Assets GmbH intends to significantly expand its logistics property portfolio. Logistics assets with a volume of €200-300 million will be acquired by the end of 2019. The acquisitions will be concentrated on the core markets of Germany, Benelux and the United Kingdom. Selected properties may also be acquired in France, the Nordics, Spain and Poland. A total of between six and eight properties will be acquired.

In recent years student housing has emerged as a highly attractive investment product on European markets. With the number of international students set to grow further and supply still limited, the future of this asset class seems bright. Stefan Kolibar, Head of Marketing at StudentMarketing talked about recent market developments.

Large sums are expected to be invested in property again by institutional investors worldwide in 2018. Based on its “Investment Intentions Survey 2018”, INREV expects around €51.1 billion to be invested in property this year. The largest share of this €51 billion will go to Europe (around 41.2 percent), followed by the USA (31.7 percent). The Asia-Pacific region (17.4 percent) is in third place.

PGGM Private Real Estate and Redevco, one of Europe’s leading retail real estate investment managers have launched Urban Retail Ventures, a €550 million European commercial real estate joint venture. Urban Retail Ventures will invest in the most favourable shopping and leisure destinations in Europe, focusing on cities that are winning the battle as quality retail locations.

Despite being late in its cycle, the global real estate market is benefiting from strong returns for investors and a positive global economic outlook, according to Emerging Trends in Real Estate – The Global Outlook for 2018, an annual forecast of global real estate investor sentiment published jointly by PwC and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). The report notes that in this highly competitive, late-cycle property market, the real estate industry must embrace technology, new business models, and the concept of “space as a service”.