Welcome back readers to another edition of BGO's The Chief Economist. I'm Ryan Severino, CFA and for this week's edition we are focusing our analysis on Europe. Let's dive right in!
What a difference a couple of quarters can make. After limping toward the end of 2023 into 2024, the European economy produced a much better showing in the first half of this year. A number of notable developments not only put the economy on stronger footing currently, but also set it up for accelerating growth. That should favorably position the commercial real estate (CRE) market in the region. A rebounding economy should continue to support generally healthy space-market fundamentals while interest rate cuts from the major central banks in the region should support much stronger capital markets. Taken together, they paint a picture of a CRE market that should exhibit stronger returns and a greater array of investment options over our medium-term outlook.