Living sector and Germany set to benefit from global uncertainty

Europe’s residential and living sectors are attracting growing investor interest, supported by supply shortages and shifting capital allocation, according to Rainer Nonnengässer, managing director of omniLiv.

Speaking at Mipim 2026 in an interview with Real Asset Media, Nonnengässer said the region is benefiting from renewed global attention, although he stopped short of describing it as a defensive play.

“I believe in the current global situation. Europe has gained a lot of attractiveness from an investor’s point of view. I wouldn’t say safe haven — I don’t like the expression safe haven that much — but there is a strong appetite into Europe.”

He highlighted strong investor demand for operational residential sectors, with capital targeting a broad range of living strategies. “Everything that is related to beds comes with a high attraction for investors. And this spans from hospitality through PBSA, multifamily into senior living.”

Geographically, Nonnengässer pointed to Southern Europe as a key focus, particularly Spain and Portugal, while also identifying opportunities in markets that have undergone repricing.

“As regards the geographical focus, I think Iberia is the flavour of the day. Germany has a lot of potential due to price corrections over the last two years. And to a certain extent I believe CEE will also see some renaissance in the next two years, depending on how the situation with Ukraine evolves.”

He said structural imbalances in Germany’s housing market remain a key driver of rental growth, with demand continuing to outstrip supply following a slowdown in development activity.

“In Germany the supply-demand situation is more or less unchanged. There is a high tension on the demand side, whereas supply — since the change in the interest environment three years ago — has cooled down, so development activities are significantly lower than years ago.”

This dynamic is reinforcing urban concentration trends and putting further pressure on housing availability in major cities.

“And this has an effect on rents. This has a concentration effect, where metropolitan areas are still seeing stronger inflow by people than other areas, and are even affected more by this gap than some years ago.”