The Italian real estate crisis seems to have become honey for foreign investors. The Wall Street Journal notes it today.
From January to the beginning of October, there were foreign investments in real estate for 2,75 billion euros, the largest figure since 2007 now. The data is from Real Capital Analytics.
According to the American newspaper, with greater confidence in the recovery of the euro area, investors are increasingly willing to buy in riskier countries such as Spain and Italy.
The protagonists of the biggest deals of 2013 are investors that we had never bought in Italy. For example, in early October Morgan Stanley, which has not been active in the sale and purchase of Italian properties since 2007, announced that it had acquired the majority stake in 13 shopping centers for a value of approximately 635 million euros.
In May Allianz bought two buildings in Milan and Rome. It hasn't made such investments in Italy since 2008. And after this 90 million euro deal, the German insurance company wants to spend another 500 million euro on real estate, says Mauro Montagner, CEO of Allianz Real Estate Italy.
According to information from the Wall Street Journal, Blackstone, which has invested in shopping centers in northern Italy in recent months, is allegedly negotiating the possible purchase of the historic headquarters of Corriere della Sera for 120 million euros.
But not everyone sees Italy as the Eldorado of real estate. Many investors are discouraged by a political and economic system in which there is often a lack of transparency and clear rules.
Still, the Peninsula continues to be attractive. In places like England, Germany and Sweden, prices have in some cases returned to pre-recession levels, with yields around 5%. Conversely, markets such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece would still have yields of 7,3% for homes and 8,4% for offices.
