Istanbul highly ranked

Investment returns in the cities of Moscow and Istanbul are likely to surpass those of Paris and London in the short term.

The list of top rated investment cities was released and for the first time, London did not make the top ten list. The Urban Land Institute issues an annual report, along with PricewaterhouseCoopers, which details the most lucrative areas for investment in Western Europe.

Top on that list is Moscow and Istanbul, as these are emerging investment markets that property investors continuously consider. London fell to 15th place out of the 27 cities that are included on the list for 2008. London was ranked number two in 2007. Paris was ranked number one in 2007 and fell to number five on the list for 2008.

One fact that was evident was that property investors are favouring emerging markets for investment benefit over the most stable and developed areas of the continent.

As reported by Bloomberg, John Forbes who is the London based head of real estate at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, said, "There is an increasing appetite for emerging markets. Russia and Turkey are regarded in the same way as the India of Europe. They are top for economic growth."

According to the survey of investors, analysts and brokers, the UK suffered in several areas including commercial real estate prices, which fell drastically in 2007 to lows not seen in 17 years. Additionally credit market risk losses and the subprime markets there have caused turbulence.

Property developers throughout Russia and Turkey have seen an increase in the number of foreign investors, including those coming from the UK.

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