Munich emerges as top property investment city in Europe

Munich is the top city in Europe for property investors as it has withstood the global economic downturn better than any other location, it is claimed.

The German city has strong levels of wealth and a highly diversified local business structure consisting of strong global players protected it from the full impact of the recession, according to the annual E-REGI index from LaSalle Investment management.

‘Munich offers particularly favourable business conditions, which are complemented by extensive R&D activities.

In combination, these factors result in comparatively strong economic and employment growth forecasts despite the current slowdown,’ it says.

It is the first German city to top the annual index ranking and replaces London in the top position.

Demand for real estate in London has fallen sharply over the last year and its office market has seen the sharpest price reduction in Europe.

While London's size and wealth have kept it in the top 10, weak GDP and employment growth expectations have weighed heavily against the UK capital in the latest Index.

Paris has retained its second place and is only marginally behind Munich. ‘Paris is a major hub of administrative, economic and financial activity in France.

It also serves as an important transport and logistics centre in France,’ the report says.

It is countries where property bubbles were most inflated that have suffered the most. Cities in Spain and Central and Eastern Europe have plummeted down the rankings as they pay for their financial imbalances and recent overheating.

For the first time since 2001 there is no Spanish city in the top ten.

Moscow appears for the first time in the index which ranks 98 European cities using a combination of economic growth factors, the overall level of wealth, and the relative attractiveness of the local business market.

‘Moscow’s debut high ranking was primarily driven by its size, its importance to the Russian economy as a whole and recent evidence of its ability to record exceptional GDP growth.

According to LaSalle, after a period of severe downwards revisions to GDP, property markets across Europe are probably approaching the bottom.

However a recovery will be selective, with larger, more liquid markets seeing a growing share of activity, particularly in the prime segme