General

Commercial Property Deals to Hit £318 Bln

(Reuters) - The volume of global commercial real estate deals is forecast to rebound 30 percent to total $478 billion (318 billion pounds) this year, led by surging investments in China and a revival in the United States, a report said on Wednesday.

Property consultants Cushman & Wakefield said investment sales are rising after the steep downturn in 2009, when global volumes fell 23 percent to $365 billion, the lowest since 2003, but are still well below the 2007 peak of more than $1 trillion.

The United States is forecast to post the biggest percentage rise in sales in 2010 as it, the world’s largest commercial property market, pulls out of recession, boosting volumes in North America by 48 percent to $64 billion, Cushman said.

“With many (U.S.) investors sitting on a lot of cash after the recapitalisations, equity raises and inward investment flows of last year, a strong turnaround in activity looks likely … if the economy stays on track, it wouldn’t be surprising to see our forecast beaten,” Janice Stanton, Cushman’s senior managing director of capital markets in the US, said.

In China, volumes more than doubled to $156 billion in 2009, making it the world’s most active real estate investment market by far. It is expected to continue growing this year, despite government measures to cool the sector down, Cushman said.

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