Global commercial deals decline 41%

There were some regional varia¬tions with the share of crossborder activity rising from 25 per cent to 30 per cent in the United States, but falling from 46 per cent to 34 per cent in AsiaPacific and from 66 per cent to 58 per cent in Europe.

Record transaction volumes in recent years were driven by the avail¬ability of relatively cheap debt. With the collapse of the global commercial mortgagebacked securities market and a general increase in the cost of debt, highly leveraged investors have exited the market.

At the same time, a sharply slow¬ing global economy is causing investors of all types to be more cau¬tious. While equitybased investors are still active, they are selective. Many are waiting on the sidelines for pricing movement.

Crow said it may take another year before debt markets stabilise and there may be increased distress sales. Highgrowth markets perceived as oversold are likely to attract the most attention from buyers.

Investors are also seeking out mar¬kets with lower transparency but solid growth fundamentals. These include Latin America, with particular focus on Brazil, Central and Eastern Europe, and markets in the Asia Pacific such as Vietnam.

Jones Lang LaSalle expects invest¬ment volumes this year to be at least 35 per cent lower than last year with a downside risk, as the market was already showing weakness in the sec¬ond half of last year.

AsiaPacific remained robust in the first half of the year with investment volumes unchanged at $55 billion.

Southeast Asia witnessed the strongest investment volumes across the region with its strong growth pro¬file continuing to draw investors. Singapore in particular saw a signif¬icant rise in investment with volumes reaching $4.8 billion, up 20 per cent from a year ago.

In China and Japan, investment volumes grew 3 per cent and 8 per cent respectively in the first half.

In the period, transaction volumes in the Americas dropped 56 per cent from a year earlier to $75 billion. Crossborder investment was also down, falling 47 per cent to $23 bil¬lion, but activity rose 5 per cent.