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A survey of 600 of the continents largest real estate players reveals a north-south divide in the investment prospects of key European cities.

The German cities of Munich and Hamburg top the list compiled by PwC the world’s largest accountancy firm, with Zurich and London also making the top five.   Moscow, Helsinki, Paris, Berlin and Frankfurt make up the rest of the top ten.

The only city to make the top ten outside of Northern Europe was Istanbul which came third in the list of investment prospects and first when respondents were asked which cities were most attractive for property development.

Istanbul “is one of the few markets where investors remain confident in the city rather than in their own ability to buck the general trend through superior real estate investment skills,” PwC said.

Cities in Spain, Italy and Portugal dominate the list of cities with the worst investment prospects. Lisbon, Athens, Barcelona, Rome and Madrid all make into the bottom ten.

However, Dublin breaks the north-south trend by coming bottom of the list.

“There is a broad consensus that there is little positive to be said about Dublin,” the report said.  It blames a combination of new regulation, European austerity, the debt crisis and a weak lending market for the poor prospects of cities in the so-called PIIGS economies.

PwC cite market transparency and strong tenant demand for the main reasons behind the prospects of the survey’s top performers.

PwC compiled the study with the Urban Land Institute by surveying the continent’s largest property investors, companies, brokers, asset managers, banks and analysts.

European Investment Market Prospects

Rank	City	Score
1	Istanbul	5.48
2	Zurich	4.93
3	Munich	4.87
4	Moscow	4.81
5	Helsinki	4.73
6	Hamburg	4.71
7	Warsaw	4.65
8	Stockholm	4.48
9	Milan	4.45
9	Prague	4.45
11	Rome	4.33
12	Athens	4.30
13	Amsterdam	4.29
13	Lisbon	4.29
15	Berlin	4.26
16	Edinburgh	4.25
16	Frankfurt	4.25
18	Copenhagen	4.22
19	Vienna	4.20
20	Brussels	4.19
21	Budapest	4.15
22	Paris	4.10
23	London	3.91
24	Lyon	3.75
25	Barcelona	3.56
26	Madrid	3.35
27	London	3.32