In Europe, commercial deals have reached a five-year high.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, despite the suffering economy, commercial property deals reached their highest level since 2007, spearheaded by international investors. doha property finder

For the three-month period, trading volume totaled €32 billion, down 4% from the first quarter but up 8.6% from the same quarter a year ago. According to Cushman & Wakefield, foreign purchasers raised their spending by 15%, compared to a 5% increase in domestic activity.

According to the business, investors have "extended their buying horizons," taking on greater risks and driving up prices.

Global pension, insurance, and sovereign wealth funds are concentrating their efforts in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, which accounted for 62 percent of all deals in the quarter.

However, there was an increase in other areas, with transactions up 94 percent in southern Europe, 70 percent in the Benelux, and 30 percent in the Nordics throughout the quarter.

"Many investors are still heavily focused on core markets, but more and more are looking further afield for opportunities," said Jan Willem Bastijn, EMEA head of capital markets, "with Central & Eastern Europe strong in the first quarter for example, but some of the distressed Club Med markets bouncing back in the last quarter, led in particular by some notable office deals."

Cushman & Wakefield is upping its total deal volume prediction for the year from €136 billion to €142 billion, citing "more equity purchasers entering the market and loans being relatively easier to obtain."

Deals have traditionally been driven by retail and industrial space, but this is changing, with office space accounting for 47 percent of deals in the third quarter.

"While property values stabilized in the first months of the year, pressure is building for premier property yields to decrease," said David Hutchings, Cushman & Wakefield's European research head. "In the near term, this will be justified by a lack of recent development, which will undoubtedly sustain an eventual resumption of rental growth as occupier confidence grows, but you don't have to believe in the economic recovery story to appreciate the allure of property."

Investors' interest in French commercial real estate is waning.

Due to greater selectivity and a lack of non-European, cross-border investors, commercial property investment volumes in France decreased for the first time since 2009.

"Due to a lack of actual prospects and the general sluggishness of the economy, the French market lost a little of its allure for cross-border investors during [the first half of 2013]," Marie-Josée Lopes, head of research at Savills, stated in a recent report.

Investment volumes declined 22% in the first half of the year compared to the same period previous year. During the first six months of this year, €6.1 billion was spent in commercial property, compared to €7.8 billion the previous year.

The biggest sector for the market in France, office property investments, declined 19 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. However, the market share remains robust, with 68 percent of the whole commercial market in mid-2013, up from 65 percent the previous year.

The percentage of investments aimed at retail property grew to 17% from 14% last year. There were ten retail property deals between €10 million and €100 million in the first half of this year, compared to six last year. During the first six months, three retail property purchases totaled more than €100 million.

During the first half of this year, logistics property accounted for 5% of all investments, up from 3% last year.

During the first half of the year, foreign funds invested less in real estate, with French investors accounting for 69 percent of all investments. According to Savills, Germany accounted for 8% of investments, other European countries accounted for 14%, and US investors accounted for 7% of the market.

In the following six months, the business anticipates sovereign wealth funds to return. According to Savills, investment volumes in 2013 will be between €14 and €15 billion.

"Despite disappointing investment volumes in the first half, robust investor demand remains," said Boris Cappelle, director of investment at Savills, in the study. "We expect the market to improve in the second half, owing to the signing of multiple large transactions," says the analyst.