In the survey, investors identified the markets that they believed would achieve the highest total property returns in 2026, excluding their own domestic markets.
The survey results demonstrate Warsaw’s increasingly strong position among the most competitive commercial real estate markets in Europe. Warsaw is no longer perceived solely as a regional market – the leader in Central and Eastern Europe – but is now operating alongside mature investment locations in Western Europe. From an investor’s perspective, stable macroeconomic fundamentals, good economic growth forecasts, which put us ahead of other countries in the region, as well as strong rental fundamentals and achievable returns are key factors here.
Przemysław Felicki, capital markets director at CBRE.
London maintained its leading position among cities as the most attractive investment location in Europe. Madrid took second place. Warsaw placed third – improving its positioning from last year. Barcelona and Milan, with the latter having continuously improved its performance through infrastructure improvements and a favourable business climate, also made the top five. Paris came in sixth.
Investors were also asked about the most promising countries. The results of this survey largely reflect the position of individual cities. Poland, as the largest economy in Central and Eastern Europe, maintained its third-place ranking for the third consecutive year.
Spain, identified by nearly half of respondents as the market with the highest return potential in 2026, led the rankings for the first time. Investors are attracted by its solid economic fundamentals, strong tourism sector, and housing demand, as well as the fact that prices in many segments remain below the European average. The United Kingdom came in second, followed by Italy in fourth, due to its greater financial stability, limited supply of new projects, and the potential of its regional markets. Germany rounded out the top five.