Investment in EMEA living sectors (multifamily and student housing) reached €17.4bn in Q2 2026 — the highest quarterly total since 2022 and up 49% year-on-year — according to JLL. That brought the half-year total to €31.2bn, up 10% on 2025 and 16% above the 2021–25 five-year H1 average. The average deal size grew to €72m from €39m a year earlier, as large platform transactions drove volumes even as the number of deals fell 19%; deals over €100m accounted for 68% of volume, rising 103% versus an 8% drop in sub-€100m deals.
Multifamily investment rose 83% year-on-year to €14.3bn, driven by several €1bn-plus platform deals in Sweden, the UK, and Spain; affordable housing investment rose 98%, led by growth in Spain. Against this, city residential sales-price growth slowed to 3.1% in Q2, below rental growth of 3.4%, making renting cheaper than buying in two-thirds of key European cities. Construction costs rose 3.7% and are expected to accelerate further amid Middle East-conflict-related supply-chain disruption, which JLL says will limit new supply even as residential permits rose 7.7% in Q1.
Gemma Kendall, JLL’s head of EMEA living investment, said the quarter “marks a decisive shift in living sector investment, with large-scale platform transactions driving a return to post-pandemic volume levels,” reflecting institutional investors’ focus on high-quality operational portfolios. Emma Rosser, JLL’s EMEA living research director, added that “higher homebuying costs have suppressed purchase activity, driving increased demand for rental,” even as supply gains face fresh construction-cost headwinds.
