Asset classes

Real Estate Market Reports

Our latest views on markets:

• European Real Estate Debt: Tighter credit conditions create opportunities (May 2013)
  Darren Sriharan, Global Real Estate Manager, writes the threat of a European banking crisis has receded but credit conditions remain tight, creating a financing gap in European commercial real estate. Yet banks are only a quarter of the way through their deleveraging programmes. This will weigh on capital values in the near term but the debt drought is creating opportunities for investors.

• Global Real Estate Outlook (May 2013)
  Chris Urwin, Global Research Manager - Real Estate writes Japan’s quantitative easing programme, a steady recovery in the US and an improving balance of risks all bode well for global real estate markets. Having been somewhat ignored by yield-hunting investors, good-quality real estate now looks relatively cheap.
• UK office market: ready to turn the corner (April 2013)
  Chris Urwin, Global Research Manager - Real Estate, writes after steadily declining in recent years, regional office valuations now offer exceptional value compared to central London property and especially other income-producing assets such as corporate bonds. With the valuations of regional offices now poised to recover, they offer compelling potential for yield compression making them highly attractive assets on a risk-adjusted basis.
• US real estate recovery arrives in second-tier cities (April 2013)
  The US economy is now recovering steadily and is likely to grow relatively strongly over the next five years. But while the S&P 500 climbed 9.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2013, US real estate remains relatively cheap. Darren Sriharan writes this could change as the recovery in commercial real estate moves from prime assets to higher-yielding secondary assets.
• Positioning for the upswing: UK Secondary Real Estate set to outperform (April 2013)
  Aviva Investors’ Real Estate Research Team believes that 2013 will mark a turning point for the UK real estate market. Chris Urwin writes, UK secondary assets currently look cheap relative to prime assets and are set to drive strong medium-term performance in the UK market. But not all secondary sectors will benefit equally, and investors will need a selective approach based on sound local knowledge.
• The Case for Irish Commercial Real Estate (April 2013)
  Ireland’s commercial real estate market may have been through the mill in the last five years but we expect a recovery to get underway this year. Darren Sriharan, Global Real Estate Analyst, writes that the occupier market appears to have bottomed out and the economy and the real estate investment market are now showing signs of steady improvement.
• European Real Estate Outlook (February 2013)
  For the first time in a number of years we see reasons to be more positive about the outlook for European real estate. Risks to the euro zone have decreased significantly. The resulting rally in risk assets has left prime European real estate looking cheap relative to most income-producing asset classes.
• Dearth of UK Real Estate Finance Spells Opportunity (February 2013)
  The low level of debt availability in the UK’s real estate markets is likely to continue to weigh on commercial property values over the medium term says Richard Levis, Analyst – Real Estate Strategy and Research.
• UK Real Estate Outlook (February 2013)
  Chris Urwin, Global Research Manager - Real Estate discusses the improving outlook for the UK market.
• Asia Pacific Real Estate Outlook (December 2012)
  Elysia Tse, who leads the Real Estate Investment Governance, Strategy and Research teams for Asia Pacific, discusses the outlook for Asia Pacific real estate.
• Counting the cost of Scottish independence (November 2012)
  Although it’s not an immediate worry, the continuing steps towards Scottish independence could have profound consequences for the UK real estate market, says Chris Urwin, Global Research Manager -Real Estate.

Thematic research:

• The Impact of the Internet on Retail property (February 2013)
  Richard Levis, Analyst - Real Estate Strategy and Research, discusses the change brought to retail by the internet revolution is accelerating with the evolution of mobile technology, online marketing and distribution systems.
• Infrastructure Investing in the UK and Continental Europe (December 2012)
  Infrastructure assets offer a range of potentially beneficial investment characteristics, including inflation protection, diversification and exposure to long-term and stable income flows reports Darren Sriharan, Research Analyst - Real Estate.
• Climate Change Regulations: Opportunity or threat? (September 2012)
  Richard Levis, Research Analyst - Real Estate, Aviva Investors reports on the baseline risks and opportunities for commercial real estate, and looks at the drivers of energy efficiency improvements, associated costs and the implications for investment strategies.
• Climate Change Implications for Long-Term Real Estate Strategies (April 2012)
  Climate change is expected to present some of the biggest challenges the world faces in the 21st century and real estate investors should act now, reports Richard Levis, Research Analyst - Real Estate.
• Five regulatory reforms that will change Real Estate Investment (July 2012)
  The next few years will see the introduction of five key pieces of legislation which will profoundly change the way that stakeholders in the real estate investment market operate. Chris Urwin, Global Research Manager - Real Estate gives an overview of the new demands from a rapidly evolving regulatory environment.

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