The study finds the biggest increases in Hamburg and Dsseldorf. In Hamburg, investment increased a whopping 75% over the one-year period, from 684 million euros to 1.2 billion. Dsseldorf's volume also went up a heady 55%, from 562 million euros to 871 million.

Frankfurt continues to lead the pack, however, despite a 1% decline in transaction volume to roughly 2.7 billion euros. Next in line is Munich, which saw a 20% increase over '01 volume for a total of more than 1.4 billion euros. Berlin transactions also fell slightly, .5%, finishing the year with 1.23 billion euros in investment volume.

"The positive development of the German investment markets was due above all to the high liquidity of open-ended property funds", comments Peter Rösler, chairman of the management board of Atis. With a cash inflow of almost 15 billion euros, these last year had substantial capital to invest. Closed-end property funds, so often declared virtually dead, also invested more than almost ever before. "In addition, 2002 saw the disposal of many of the office properties completed in the boom years and now well-let."

And while 2003 may not quite match up to last year in terms of transaction volume, Rösler nonetheless expects good times ahead. "In 2003, we expect to see strong demand continuing and anticipate an investment volume that is high by long-term standards", he forecasts. "The general trend toward heavier investment in property as an assured asset when capital markets become problematic will be sustained. At the same time, there are some indications that in the face of greater competition, the tendency for yields to increase somewhat will also continue."

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