Continued Optimism in Commercial Real Estate Financing
DIFI Report by ZEW and JLL
The German Real Estate Finance Index (DIFI) by ZEW Mannheim and JLL increased for the fourth time in a row and is only slightly negative in the second quarter of 2021 at minus 3.3 points (plus 10.7 points compared to the previous quarter). The current market situation as well as the market expectations for the next six months have again improved significantly. The expectations indicator jumped into positive territory with a plus of 13.9 points, reaching its highest level since the end of 2015.
The office, retail and hotel sectors in particular improved compared to the first quarter of 2021. Both the financing situation and the financing expectations are assessed significantly more positively by the experts surveyed. This development can certainly also be attributed to the progressing COVID-19 vaccination campaign and expected re-openings. However, the indicators for all three asset classes remain in negative territory.
The German Real Estate Finance Index (DIFI)
The German Real Estate Finance Index (DIFI) reflects survey participants’ assessment of the current situation (including the previous six months) of and expectations (for the coming six months) for the commercial real estate financing market. It is conducted on a quarterly basis and calculated as the average value of the balances between the following segments: office, retail, logistics, residential properties and hotels. The balance for each segment is the difference between the percentage of participants who are optimistic and the percentage of participants who are pessimistic about the current state and future development of financing conditions in the German real estate market. The DIFI is a survey conducted and published by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and ZEW Mannheim. 38 experts participated in the survey, which was conducted 3–17 May 2021.
