This would bring the full-year total to c.€215 billion, 9% higher than volumes recorded in 2024.

The Czech Republic, Finland, Portugal, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Hungary and Norway are all expected to see investment volumes up by 20% or more on the previous year.

Savills highlights the following top picks for investors in European real estate for 2026:

Core/Core+

1. High-quality office assets in central business districts remain a defensive core allocation. Low vacancy, strong tenant covenants and an ongoing flight-to-quality continue to support pricing in Europe’s largest and most liquid capitals.
2. Hotels in established year-round destinations, including France, the UK (notably London), Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece will remain in demand, and we expect to see transaction volumes continue to increase in Germany. Strong international arrivals and resilient leisure spending underpin the sector’s long-term outlook.
3. Institutional residential assets in capital cities and major metropolitan areas offer durable income, driven by structural undersupply and ongoing household formation, despite population decline.
4. Best-in-class high-streets in major European cities continue to demonstrate stabilising occupancy, strong tenant demand, and growing tourism flows, while retail sales are stabilising at around 2% on average across Europe.

Value-add

1. Upgrading older or non-compliant offices in CBDs or well-connected locations offers strong value-add potential, supported by tightening ESG regulations and widening rental differentials between prime and secondary stock.
2. Modern logistics assets with short unexpired terms, clear rental reversion, or scope for targeted capex remain attractive. Urban light-industrial aggregation continues to offer scale and operational upside, notably for redevelopment into last-mile logistics.
3. Retail parks and shopping centres with solid catchments but operational or layout inefficiencies offer opportunities for re-leasing, re-configuration or partial mixed-use repositioning.
4. Self-storage, cold-storage, dark kitchens, open-air storage, EV charging stations; investors are increasingly drawn to these emerging sectors, which offer resilient, service-linked income streams and structural demand drivers that are less exposed to traditional real estate cycles. They also provide higher yield potential.

Opportunistic

1. Well-located offices with ageing specifications, obsolete layouts or planning uplift provide strong repositioning and redevelopment opportunities as prime offices in well-connected locations remain scarce and new development opportunities remain limited.
2. Conversions, most commonly from commercial to residential, remain a key opportunistic theme, particularly in markets facing structural housing shortages.

James Burke, Director, Global Cross Border Investment at Savills, says: “Based on deals signed since October and others already in the pipeline, we anticipate cross-border inflows to remain strong, maintaining an average 45% share of total activity. We expect to see even more European cross-border investment next year, fuelled by strong engagement from the continent’s traditional cross-border players, particularly British, French, and Swedish buyers expanding their presence outside their home markets in 2025 which we believe will follow through into the New Year.

“2025 saw a tentative re-engagement from Middle Eastern investors in European real estate, a trend which we envisage will gain further momentum into the New Year. Meanwhile, North American buyers are set to remain active as both buyers and sellers, reinforcing their position as key participants in the market.”

Lydia Brissy, Director in Savills European commercial research team, says: “European real estate investment volumes are forecast to rise by around 18% in 2026 as pricing firms up, macroeconomic conditions stabilise and institutional capital returns across the main sectors. Offices are expected to regain momentum as investors respond to attractive pricing and renewed confidence in prime assets, while the living sectors will continue to attract strong interest.”