EMEA living investment jumps 49% in second quarter

Investment in EMEA living sectors reached €17.4 bn in the second quarter of 2026. It was the highest quarterly transactional volume since 2022, rising 49% year-on-year, due to strong growth in multifamily portfolios. This brought the half-year total to €31.2bn, reflecting a 10% increase on 2025 and exceeding the 2021-25 five-year H1 average by 16%.

The average living deal size grew to €72m compared to €39m in the prior-year period, as larger deals boosted volumes amid a 19% fall in the number of transactions. Some 68% of volumes were in transactions over €100m, with these combined totals rising by 103% compared to an 8% fall in investment in deals under €100m.

Multifamily investment grew 83% year-on-year to €14.3bn in Q2 due to various €1bn+ platform deals in Sweden, the UK and Spain. Affordable housing saw the second-highest gains due to growth in Spain, rising 98% year-on-year. The prominence of large platforms deals saw Q2 entity investment volumes rise fivefold, with forward investment up 102% and existing stock investment sales up by 18%.

Affordability challenges are shaping market dynamics across the region, as average growth in city residential sales prices slowed to 3.1% in Q2 below average rental growth of 3.4%, both just over average inflation in these markets of 2.6%. Renting is now more affordable than buying in two-thirds of key European cities due to high prices and mortgage costs.

Construction cost growth is also outpacing inflation, up 3.7% in Q2 and expected to accelerate further due to global supply chain pressures as a result of the Middle East conflict and disruption to shipping.

New supply will be limited by rising costs, despite recent growth in residential permits up 7.7% in Q1. Strong tenant demand and a clear supply imbalance continues to underpin investor sentiment and strong operational performance.

Gemma Kendall, head of EMEA living investment at JLL, said: "The second quarter marks a decisive shift in living sector investment, with large-scale platform transactions driving a return to post-pandemic volume levels. Institutional capital is increasingly focused on high-quality operational portfolios, or those platforms where privatisation supports the business plan. This increased appetite reflects investor confidence in the structural fundamentals.

Emma Rosser, EMEA living research director at JLL, added: “European housing markets are responding to renewed cost pressures. Higher homebuying costs have supressed purchase activity, driving increased demand for rental. Affordability challenges persist, while recent gains in housing supply face fresh threats from construction sector headwinds.”

Notes: Transactional volumes include direct, entity and development transactions > $5m. Living includes multi-housing and PBSA sectors. Residential sales and rental growth refers to new sales and lets in key European cities. Inflation reported by Oxford Economics.