Europe's property market retains its appeal due to risk avoidance strategies

Europe’s property market retains its appeal due to risk avoidance strategies

Andrew Hook, manager of the Aviva Investors European Property fund, explains how the recession has actually helped Europe's real estate market to maintain steady levels of growth.

The eurozone recovery has stalled in recent months, with GDP growth in the region during the second quarter of 2014 stagnating, and more recently, a surprise contraction of the German economy was seen. Survey data has revealed further weakness in the past month, raising significant concerns about the bloc’s medium-term growth prospects. Inflation slipped to a five-year low of 0.3% in September, and medium-term inflationary expectations have also fallen steadily. Meanwhile, recent manufacturing data has suggested contraction (including in Germany), and sentiment indicators have weakene...