STRONG RESULT DESPITE CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES
The German commercial real estate market registered an investment volume of €30.2 billion in the first half of the year. This new record figure was mainly due to the historically strong start to the year with over €19.7 billion. The second quarter was significantly influenced by the war against Ukraine, which started end of February. The investment environment, which has changed within a few days and weeks, had a significant restraining effect on market activities, resulting in €10.5 billion investment volume for the spring months. German investment markets entered a new phase in the weeks following the outbreak of the war against Ukraine. Within a few weeks, the tone and the outlook on the investment markets has changed for investors. In addition to the geopolitical distortions and the significantly worsened economic perspectives, the end of the loose monetary policy and the turnaround in interest rates that has now also been announced by the ECB have led many investors to adjust their investment strategy and in some cases forced them to completely revise it. Financing conditions changed noticeably within a very short period of time with swap rates reflecting impressively the current expectations of the world of finance. Less surprisingly, the previous historically high market momentum has declined.