Betton Gold!

A recent article in the FT commented on the real estate grab among Germans and other Europeans, referring to it as Betton Gold, which when translated means concrete gold rush. Demand for property in such hot spots as Berlin is not limited to Germans only, as we have seen Italians and Spaniards flock to the relative perceived safety of a non-paper investment. We wonder whether the demand has been driven not only by the extremely low rate of interest, but by their concern over the safety of the Euro and the stability of the EU in particular. With all the incessant talk of deflation, it would appear that normal wealth preserving Europeans are not paying much heed to Christine Lagarde’s deflationary ogre.