The report shows a great contrast between prime assets in key locations and the rest of CEE countries, the difference only getting bigger. Quality asset in Warsaw, Moscow and Prague are quite attractive, while the rest of the CEE region shows extremely feeble interest when it comes to commercial real estate investments.

Offices are the most liquid segment, amounting for 44% of the volume, according to the report, but that is due to a low supply in quality retail assets. The industrial segment is also showing some increase in investment interest, a trend to watch in 2013.

“Due to high levels of vacancy and relatively low net absorption in recent years, investment in the office segment in Prague has remained low. Prime assets are in demand, however, and are proving difficult to obtain,” said Jos Tromp, Head of CEE Research & Consultancy, CBRE. “The purchase of City Green Court by Deka from Skanska for around €54 million confirmed the prime yield levels quoted for Prague. In Warsaw more offices were traded during 2012; however, investors have also started to price in the risk of vacancy increasing over the next 12-18 months.”

Mike Atwell, Head of CEE Capital Markets, CBRE, added:

“With the pricing of prime office assets relatively stable in most segments and markets, thus far pricing for secondary offices – even in the most liquid cities – has moved by at least 75-100 basis points to date. Some investors have started to show interest for value-add opportunities in prime office locations in order to pro-actively prepare for the anticipated increasing vacancy. The yield gap between prime offices in the capital and regional cities amounts to around 150 bps. Generally the gap between prime and secondary is expected to increase through to the end of 2013.”

Perth is the largest city in the state of Western Australia, and thanks to a steady flow of mining activities in the state, investors are rushing to buy up office space in the city. In 2011 alone, over $880 million were exchanged in office real estate. This is a big plus for Western Australia, which has enjoyed a relatively good real estate market compared with the rest of the western world.

“Our mining, banking and financial sectors are capably run and the legal infrastructure, technology, quality management and transparency of laws and business make Australia a very easy place to do business,” explained Imran Mohiuddin, head of Colliers International in WA.

Many foreign investors, Mohiuddin said, are looking to move their money to safer waters, which just so happen to be in Australia. Rather than risk their investment money on the turbulent real estate market of Europe, they are choosing cities like Perth to secure their finances.

For homeowners, the news may be good as well. Forecasters expect home values in Perth suburbs to rise 5 percent in 2012, a welcomed improvement over 2011 stagnation. Some believe the Reserve Bank of Australia will also cut interest rates for the third time in as many months to help offset the effects of the economic turmoil in Europe. For many in Australia, however, the future looks bright.

Carrefour store in Shanghai, China

La Française AM the buyer, had around 5.8 billion euros in real-estate investments in 2010 and managed 36 billion euros in assets. Carrefour will maintain operation of the supermarkets on a 12-year renewable lease and plans to reinvest the money from the sale into property development. The sale comes after the company’s shares had fallen over 44 percent this year and investors expressed their declining confidence. The retailer has received five profit warnings in 12 months.

Carrefour, an international hypermarket chain with headquarters in Levallois-Perret, France, is the second largest retail group in revenue and the third largest in profit behind Wal-mart (U.S.) and Tesco (U.K.). In 2010, its revenue topped 101 billion euros. It has stores in Europe, South America, North Africa, Saudi Arabia, China, and many other locations around the world.

La Française AM is an asset management firm based in Europe with offices in Pais, Spain, Italy, and Luxembourg. It has a strong focus on institutional clients and has helped companies manage investments since 1975.