DUBLIN is forecast to be Europe's second preferred location for real estate investment in 2015, according to the latest report from the Urban Land Institute (ULI).
The report, Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2015 said there has been a surge in demand for real estate investment opportunities in a number of cities that were hit particularly hard during the market downturn.
Top investment location for 2015 is forecast to be Berlin, thanks to a concentration of technology, media and communications investors and a growing demand for residential accommodation from the city's young population.
Dublin retains the number-two spot, unchanged from 2014 thanks to a rebounding economy, which is now forecast to be the fastest growing in Europe during 2015.
While Dublin remains a geographically small European city with around a third of Berlin's population, it attracted €2.2bn in real estate investment in the first nine months of 2014 - close to €2.9bn of investment pumped into Berlin over the same period. Overall, during the first nine months of 2014, Dublin attracted the sixth highest level of real estate investment amongst the European 28 cities reviewed in the report.
Simon Hardwick, real estate partner at PwC Legal and one of the authors of the report said: "Real estate investors will face a tricky balancing act in 2015 as the market is awash with capital surging into Europe from around the world. "The wave of capital-rich investors entering European real estate markets is savvy and sophisticated. "Their need to preserve and create new wealth will, for some, see a move away from core markets where many feel there is little value to be gained and into assets, developments and cities that give them the opportunity to achieve better returns. "Smart investments will be the types of property that benefit from population growth, urbanisation, an ageing society and technological innovation."
The Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2015, says a number of new cities are surging up the investment league table, including Madrid (up from 16th in 2014 to number 3), and Birmingham (up 14 places to number 6), while London has fallen five places to the number 10 slot for 2015; that's despite attracting €21bn of investment in the first three months of 2014.