Dublin bottom in real estate survey

DUBLIN TRAILS 26 other European cities for property development and investment in a real estate survey published today by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

One investor quoted in the survey, Emerging Trends in Real Estate: Europe 2011, describes the Republic's market as a "real struggle, a bubble that's popped".

The study states that, in 2009, Dublin ranked lowest in all categories of all the 27 cities evaluated, which included all major European capitals, and centres such as Barcelona, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Milan and Munich.

Last year, the Republic’s capital languished in 27th place for the performance of existing assets, that is the returns from properties, although investors’ view of the city as a place to make new acquisitions improved slightly.

Another unnamed interviewee told PricewaterhouseCoopers that the Republic has strengths that people are not seeing.

London ranks third for existing property performance and second for new acquisitions. Investors believe the British government’s austerity measures will hit the regions harder than the country’s capital, although some argued that investors could get a better return outside the city with the proper management of their stock.

Munich ranks highest for existing property performance, while Istanbul tops the league for both new acquisition opportunities and development prospects.

In terms of sectors, the report shows Stockholm offers the best opportunities for those looking to acquire office properties; Hamburg is best for industrial acquisitions; Lyon for apartments; and Athens for hotels.