JLL Office Property Clock Q3 2019
Strong occupier demand pushes European take up to record Q3 activity
JLL’s latest European Office Property Clock shows record Q3 occupier demand.
The pace of economic activity has slowed across the board in Europe. Declining global trade volumes, in part the result of escalating protectionist measures, in part due to a softening in global demand, has led industrial output in Germany into recession and this threatens to drag the services sector down with it. Political risks continue to top the agenda, especially in the UK with the impending Brexit deadline, though they have temporarily dissipated in Italy. Policymakers are responding to mitigate the slowdown, with the ECB cutting rates and restarting its asset purchase programme, while fiscal authorities are weighing up additional spending and tax cuts should a deterioration in conditions really take hold. For now, the services sector is holding up, employment remains high and recruitment continues. This should support rental levels in most key European office markets.