European cities with the best real estate prospects for 2023

London, Paris and Belin are the top 3 European cities in terms of real estate, while Athens ranks 23rd out of a total of 30. The position of the Greek capital remains stable compared to last year, just as the trio of the strongest markets also remains stable.

The data comes from the annual survey for Europe "Emerging Trends in Real Estate in 2023" prepared every year by the Urban Land Institute in collaboration with the global consulting firm PwC, based on the responses given this year by the industrys top executives from the branches of management, consulting, development, investment, finance, etc.

While the branch executives who participated in this 20th edition of the report a low, immediate impact on their real estate portfolios from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the consequences of the war reflected in rising energy costs, historically high inflation and subsequently rising interest rates.

Seven out of 10 respondents believe that Europe will go into recession before the end of 2022, in stark contrast to last years analysis, when there was still concern about the pandemic but also the expectation of a clear improvement in the business climate.

London retains first place while Paris takes second place from Berlin, but overall investment prospects and growth for all 30 cities covered by the survey are more unfavorable compared to last years analysis.

Good prospects for Athens

Despite the fact that it ranks 23rd and is small in terms of real estate investment volume compared to other European markets, Athens is considered to present, according to some market executives, good prospects in terms of rents and capital value.

At a pan-European level, there is a widespread view that high energy prices and the recession will lead to a drop in rents and an increase in available business premises for rent.

As for the specific property categories with the best prospects for 2023, as a sign of the times, the top industry response is new energy infrastructure for the second year in a row, partly reflecting historically high energy prices and the prospect of shortages the winter.