Italy to Spain Beckon as Yields Beat Germany: Real Estate

Europe’s biggest real estate managers are making their first investments in southern Europe since the financial crisis as low prices and diminishing risk make commercial properties more attractive.

Axa Real Estate Investment Managers, the largest European property fund manager, bought Barcelona office buildings from the Catalan government for 172 million euros ($224 million) last month, only its second purchase in the country in five years. When the unit of Europe’s second-largest insurer considered buying the same properties two years ago, it rejected the idea.