The search for secure, stable income in 2019 is paramount across Europe’s real estate industry as it navigates the prevailing late-cycle market while embracing new ideas that seek to combine long-term sustainability of financial performance with a greater role in society.

Though the industry remains positive about business prospects, the short-term outlook is more sober in most markets than this time last year, if only because they are “one year further into the cycle and one year closer to the end”.

Interest rates have also moved on to the industry watch-list following the European Central Bank’s decision to end quantitative easing by the end of 2018. The prospect of modest rate rises is not considered a threat to business in 2019 although real estate leaders acknowledge that might change if there is a geopolitical shock to the monetary system.

Emerging Trends Europe reveals an industry coming to terms with the operational risk of alternatives but also questioning traditional investment structures and looking at real estate in a much broader context. Businesses are taking a more “outcomes-focused” approach to investment, breaking down the barriers between profit-driven decisions and environmental, social and governance issues.

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