US real estate giant looking at Spain, France and Italy

[totallyproperty]

US real estate giant Cornerstone is on the verge of increasing its real estate exposure in Spain with additional plans to invest heavily in France and Italy. These are real estate market which have performed disastrously since the global financial crisis of 2008 but could this investment by such a renowned real estate company signal the end of the downturn?

Opinion is certainly split as to whether we are approaching the bottom of the French, Italian and Spanish real estate markets because their wider economies are showing little signs of improvement. It may well be that Cornerstone is looking much further down the line and believes there is good value in the longer term at today's prices.

There is no doubt that many real estate companies across Spain, Italy and France are struggling at the moment although it will be interesting to see whether this latest injection of new overseas capital sparks a turning point.

 

[Veronica]

Surely if this company expands into these countries the local real estate companies will struggle even more against such competition even if the market itself picks up?

 

[totallyproperty]

I had never thought of that angle - the US giant is looking to acquire French, Spanish and Italian companies as opposed to investing in existing operations it may have in these countries. Could this be seen as a vote of confidence?