Yield compression to halt as the recovery falters

Non-euro-zone economies will not be immune from the slowdown now unfolding in the single currency area. A slower pace of economic growth coupled with concerns about potential contagion from the crisis is likely to weigh on investment activity in Central and Eastern Europe more than Western markets. But in neither case do we think that investors will be willing to bid yields down aggressively from current levels. Stagnant property yields and moderating rates of rental value growth suggest that income will revert to being the driving force behind property returns for the foreseeable future.