Investment into the world’s 16 largest commercial real estate markets is forecast to reach $747bn (£573bn) by the end of 2024, according to a new report from Savills.

The firm said investors were “definitely more optimistic” about deploying in UK markets than this time last year, as its research reveals that global investment will increase 7% on 2023.

The report shows that UK turnover is predicted to reach around $56bn (£43bn) in 2024, up 20% on 2023 levels, and forecasts that UK investment will climb to $100bn (£77bn) in 2027, on a par with that seen in 2021 and 2022.

The report adds that by 2027 global investment turnover will be on course to reach almost $1.4trn (£1.1trn), which would be one of the strongest-performing years in the past decade.

Rasheed Hassan, head of global cross-border investment at Savills, said: “The growing consensus view among commercial real estate investors is that the macroeconomic momentum has swung back behind deployment, given recent movements in interest rates, the broader shifts in the cost of money and the very positive trends we are seeing in rents.

“Although not all buyers can or will move straight away, the desire and interest to be back in the market is present, so we anticipate that as more stock becomes available in 2025, turnover will rise.

“Long term, real estate remains a desirable asset class, with forecast rental growth in many sectors driven by global structural, demographic and social trends. Right now, there is a prevalence of investors looking to participate in this growth and buy assets off of discounted pricing to generate double-digit levered total returns, in many cases from relatively core assets.”

Richard Merryweather, joint head of UK investment at Savills, added: “The investors we’re talking to are definitely more optimistic about deploying in the UK than they were this time last year.

“Part of this confidence comes from data, such as the MSCI total return for office, retail and industrial being positive in August for the first time in over two years, but part is due to the UK’s stability compared with some other markets where investors might have bought.

“With the market moving off the bottom we expect to see an influx of purchasers throughout the rest of 2024 and into 2025 seeking to buy before yields harden.”