DIFI Report by ZEW and JLL Released - Downward Trend in Real Estate Financing Market Continues

The German Real Estate Finance Index (DIFI) run by ZEW and JLL reached a level of minus 5.5 points in the second quarter of 2017, an increase of 6.5 points compared to the previous quarter (minus 12 points). This is the first time the financing barometer has shown any sign of growth for more than a year. Despite this increase, the index now finds itself below zero for the second quarter in a row – the first time this has happened since 2012.

This result shows that the mood in the commercial real estate market remains fairly pessimistic and the downward trend that began following the largely positive mood in 2015 has still not come to an end. While the current financing situation received a tentatively positive assessment (the sum of positive and negative assessments climbed 6.7 points to 5.4 points), survey participants expect the financing situation to worsen over the coming six months. Though the indicator for expectations also saw an increase of 6.3 points, it still remains far below zero at minus 16.3 points. These are the key findings of the DIFI Report, a quarterly survey on the commercial real estate financing market in Germany carried out by ZEW in cooperation with JLL.