PARIS-Investment in the French property market should recoveronly modestly this year, with activity curbed by concerns about afragile leasing market, fierce competition for core assets and agap between sellers' and buyers' price expectations, according to asurvey of institutional investors by Investment Property Databankand the Paris Ile-de-France regional development agency.

There has been a renewed investment appetite since 4Q09 butthese factors will continue to hamper activity in the second half,and 2010 is now expected to total only $12.7 billion, compared witha forecast of $14 billion in March. This represents only a slightrecovery from the low point of $10.8 billion last year and is wellbelow the $39 million in boom year 2007. Insurance companies andGerman funds are expected to be the most active investors in Frenchproperty this year. The IPD/ARD (Agence R