The Irish appetite for property investment remains strong according to a report published by Jones Lang LaSalle today.

It said that Irish investors had spent €8.21bn (£5.7bn) on overseas properties and more than €1bn (£700m) on Irish property in the first nine months of the year.

The report said Irish investors remained confident about the property market because Irish property values grew by 8.7% during the year while Irish share values dropped by 15%.

Retail sector favourite
It said retail remained the dominant sector in Ireland representing 77% of all deals whiel overseas, teh UK remained the top destination for Irish overseas investment. The UK was followed by Germany, the US, France and Central and Eastern Europe as the next favoured destinations.

Jones Lang LaSalle director John Moran said: ‘Despite the fact that economic uncertainty coupled with the impact of the credit crunch are resulting in negative sentiment and a slowing down in deal activity generally, savvy Irish investors know that property remains the best performing asset class.

‘Our prediction for 2008 and beyond is that due to credit crunch uncertainty and volatility in both the domestic and European markets, the UK in particular will deliver some very worthwhile buying opportunities at reduced price levels.’