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UK: Investment in EMEA living sectors reached €17.4 billion in Q2 2026.
The figure, from new research by JLL, was the highest quarterly transactional volume since 2022, rising 49 per cent year-on-year, due to strong growth in multifamily portfolios. This brought the half-year total to €31.2 billion, a 10 per cent increase on 2025 and exceeding the 2021 to 2025 five-year H1 average by 16 per cent.
The average living deal size grew to €72 million compared to €39 million in the prior-year period, as larger deals boosted volumes amid a 19 per cent fall in the number of transactions.
Around two-thirds (68 per cent) of volume was represented by transactions over €100 million, with these combined totals rising by 103 per cent compared to an eight per cent fall in investment in deals under €100 million.
Multifamily investment grew 83 per cent year-on-year to €14.3 billion in Q2 due to various €1 billion+ platform deals in Sweden, the UK and Spain. Affordable housing saw the second-highest gains due to growth in Spain, rising 98 per cent year-on-year. The prominence of large platforms deals saw Q2 entity investment volumes rise fivefold, with forward investment up 102 per cent and existing stock investment sales up by 18 per cent.
Affordability challenges are shaping market dynamics across the region, as average growth in city residential sales prices slowed to 3.1 per cent in Q2 below average rental growth of 3.4 per cent, both just over average inflation in these markets of 2.6 per cent. 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 per cent 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 per cent 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.”
Highlights:
- Investment in EMEA living sectors reached €17.4 billion in Q2 2026, up 49 per cent on the previous year
- The figure, from new research by JLL, was the highest quarterly transactional volume since 2022
- The average living deal size grew to €72 million compared to €39 million the previous year
- Around two-thirds (68 per cent) of volume was represented by transactions over €100 million
- Multifamily investment grew 83 per cent year-on-year to €14.3 billion in Q2
