France, Germany property markets flounder as UK rebounds, MSCI data shows

By Iain Withers

LONDON (Reuters) - French and German commercial property markets remained in the doldrums as deal volumes tumbled in the second quarter of 2024, while the British market showed signs of rebounding, data published by MSCI Real Assets showed on Thursday.

Europe's commercial real estate sector has been pummeled by soaring debt costs, tumbling values and emptier post-pandemic offices, leading to eight straight quarters of annual declines in property sales.

However, the rate of decline flattened out in the April-June period, MSCI's data shows, with sales falling just 2% annually to 44 billion euros ($48 billion) across Europe, compared with a 26% drop in the previous quarter.

Deal volumes were propped up by a 26% annual jump in sales in Britain to 14.2 billion euros, which MSCI said suggested the market had "turned a corner".

Meanwhile, France and Germany continued to show signs of distress. French property sales were down 45% to 3.9 billion pounds, while German sales dropped 22% to 7 billion pounds.

"It's too soon to start celebrating, even if the worst of the downturn since mid-2022 may be behind us," said Tom Leahy, head of EMEA real estate research at MSCI.

"The office sector remains in the doldrums and in certain markets, notably France and Germany, there is still a gulf in price expectations between buyers and property owners looking to sell."

($1 = 0.9229 euros)

(Reporting by Iain Withers; Editing by David Holmes)