The worst of the property crash in Europe could be over, according to Union Investment’s Climate Index, which is an index of attitudes towards property investment.

The index rose for the first time since autumn 2006 in France and the UK. The survey suggested this showed growing confidence among investors with regards to their own business prospects as well as the wider property market.

The UK saw a particularly steep rise in the index, by 12 points to 65.5. In Germany, the index remained the same at 62.1. In France, there was a slight increase of 1.8 points to 63.4.

The ‘expectation’ factor was the major driver for the positive performance of the index, particularly in the UK, where it climbed 19.6 points to 57.7. Around 63% of UK investors were upbeat about their prospects, but only 36% felt the same in Germany and 30% in France.

Some 87% of Brits expected a rise in investment from overseas in the UK market. A large number of investors were also returning to property as an investment class, the survey found. Some 42% planned to invest significantly more in property in the near future, compared to 21% in December 2008 in the UK. Both France and Germany also saw the percentage of people planning to invest rise, to 41% in both countries.