Istanbul first choice for property investors as European recovery stalls | Business | guardian.co.uk

Istanbul first choice for property investors as European recovery stalls | Business | guardian.co.uk

Istanbul, Munich and Warsaw are the new hotspots for property investors and developers, as much of Europe remains mired in a vicious cycle of low or no growth, mounting debt and drastic austerity measures.

London – usually seen as the gold standard of real estate – has lost some of its allure and is now just hanging on at the bottom of the top 10, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute. The UK capital is regarded as "too expensive for the economic outlook" by many. But nowhere can be considered a "must buy" today, the report said, highlighting that Europe's economic crisis has left the property sector in limbo, with fast-diminishing access to bank loans and depressed rental demand.