The ongoing financial turmoil in the eurozone will cast a shadow over Expo Real this year, Joe Valente, head of European real estate research and strategy at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in London, told PropertyEU. ‘The atmosphere is more depressed than last year. Sentiment is driving the market more than data and it’s getting worse when you look at what’s being dumped in the market at prices that are too high,’ Valente said. ‘The bid/ask spread will also increase.’

Greece is the key word on everyone’s lips at the fair, with fears that its widely anticipated default could send the cost of debt soaring. ‘If Greece dafaults, banks will stop lending to each other. The cost of debt going forward will depend on how close we get to the cliff - and how far the contagion spreads - but it could get very expensive,’ Valente warned.

In addition, it’s hard to envisage a ‘cure’ that could turn the situation around, said Valente, noting that confidence across Europe is ‘shot’. Subsequently, big deals are likely to be thin on the ground this quarter, with many investors choosing to wait and see how Greece plays out before committing to new deals, he said.