Market Insights reveals European real estate performance eases while market sentiment increases

The latest edition of INREV Market Insights points to a broadly unchanged market environment compared with June. The Q2 2026 INREV Quarterly Fund Index posted a total return of 0.87%, down from 1.27% in Q1 2026. The INREV European Quarterly Asset Level Index recorded a total return of 1.11% in Q2 2026, down 55 bps from the previous quarter. Performance remained positive across all major markets.

Market sentiment remained subdued, although the deterioration observed earlier in the year appears to have eased. The INREV Consensus Indicator rose from 41.0 in June to 44.6 in September. Four of the five subindicators improved this September, albeit three remain well below the 50 growth threshold. 

Key highlights:

• The September INREV Consensus Indicator recorded a headline reading of 44.6, rising 3.6 points from the record low of 41.0 in June 2026. This marks the first improvement since December 2025. 
• The economic subindicator recorded the strongest improvement, increasing from 24.0 to 38.0.
• Southern European markets led performance in Q2 2026, with Spain posting the highest asset level return at 2.15%, followed by Italy at 1.77%. Net sentiment for both countries stood at 19% and 12%, respectively. 
• Retail assets extended their recent momentum to top the sector rankings in Q2 2026, delivering a total return of 1.97%, helped by a rebound in capital growth to 0.59%, the sector's strongest quarterly result in a year. Industrial/logistics was the next best performer at 1.21%, while residential assets returned 1.10%. Retail also remained the most favoured sector among survey respondents in September.

Download the September 2026 Market Insights report, infographics and Consensus Indicator below.