From Commercialpropertynews.com: Declining rents and rising vacancy are the bane of many landlords in the United States these days, but by another measure–total occupancy costs–prospects for 2009 look fairly positive compared to the overall global outlook.

In 61 percent of markets in the United States and Canada, Class A occupancy costs are expected to remain stable, according to a study released last week by DTZ. By contrast, 78 percent of the 114 global markets surveyed by DTZ are likely to sustain a significant drop in occupancy expenses this year…..Full Article: Source

From WSJ: Struggling to cut costs in a raging recession, companies dumped a near-record 25 million square feet of office space in the first quarter, driving vacancy up and rents down, according to data to be released today by Reis Inc.

Businesses that needed to lease space took advantage of the market weakness to extract concessions out of landlords. But the trends exacerbated financial woes for owners, especially those who owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth…..Full Article: Source

From Independent: Property funds – which invest in offices, shops and other commercial buildings – have slumped 40 per cent since hitting their peak in June 2007. Does that mean it’s time for investors to pile in to take advantage of some juicy recovery?

The specialist property fund developer Eaton Investment Management believes so. It has teamed up with the financial services company LLP Services to launch a commercial property fund, which will look to capitalise on the current “exceptional market conditions”. ….Full Article: Source

From FT: Continental Europe is seeing steep falls in house prices that could exacerbate the region’s already deep recession, even if the declines are receiving less attention than those in the US or UK markets, according a new indicator compiled by the Financial Times.
House prices in the 16-country eurozone in the final three months of 2008 were 4.8 per cent lower on the year, the FT’s eurozone house price index shows…..Full Article: Source

From Telegraph: House prices have recorded their first rise in 16 months leading experts to say that the housing market may have passed its lowest point.

The cost of a home increased by 0.9 per cent last month, suggesting the market is stabilising. It means the annual rate of decline moderated from 17.6 per cent in February to 15.7 per cent in March, bringing the average price to £150,946, according to Nationwide…..Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: U.K. house prices declined in March as the recession deepened and unemployment rose, Lloyds Banking Group Plc’s Halifax division said.

Prices fell 1.9 percent from February to an average of 157,326 pounds ($232,000), the mortgage lender said today in a statement. From a year earlier, prices dropped 17.6 percent. ….Full Article: Source

From FT: According to data out this week from Nationwide, house prices rose 0.9 per cent in March. But figures from Halifax covering the same period showed a decrease of 1.9 per cent.

The FT index, meanwhile, has reported 12 consecutive months of price falls - although the rate of decline has decreased in recent months, compared with the same period last year…..Full Article: Source

From FT: Is the homeowners’ nightmare of tumbling house prices finally at an end, or is there even worse to come? This week has been a confusing one for anyone attempting to read the runes of the UK housing market.

Nationwide reported a surprise rise in house prices this week, prompting hopes that the bottom of the market may be in sight. But as fast as some analysts have boldly called an end to price falls, others have cautioned that the sunny upland of rising prices will not rapidly be regained…..Full Article: Source

From Propertywire.com: Residential development land experienced unprecedented falls in value last year with cash strapped developers selling as they cannot get finance to go ahead with projects, according to a new report.

The value of residential development land in the UK fell by an average of 50% during 2008 with prime and super prime in London being the hardest hit…..Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government moved a step closer to seizing control of Hypo Real Estate Holding AG after the upper house of parliament backed legal steps allowing banks to be nationalized.

The vote in Berlin today prompted U.S. investor J.C. Flowers, who holds about 24 percent of the Munich-based lender, to demand Hypo receive “equal treatment” to other troubled German banks. ….Full Article: Source

From AFP: Bulgaria’s crisis-hit construction sector fears that many EU-funded infrastructure projects will be mothballed as the general election approaches and EU aid remains blocked over corruption concerns.

“The government must urgently seek ways to unblock the (EU) money so that the big infrastructure projects can get off the ground as soon as possible,” Nikolay Mihaylov, chairman of the transport section of the construction industry association, told AFP…..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: The apartment prices in the UAE are likely to plummet by about 30 per cent during this year amid fall in the occupancy rates, according to a recent survey.

More than 1,000 householders in the UAE took part in an exclusive survey conducted by the Arabian Business during March to find out the true picture of the real estate market in the emirates…..Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: Dubai Land Department’s Director-General Sultan Butti bin Mejren said that an amended Article 11 of Law No13, which regulates the Interim Real Estate Register, will be released in the next two weeks, introducing new provisions for the cancellation of contracts.
‘The revised article will set new grades for properties and developers. It will be more than the 30-70 rule, which is now applicable,’ Mejren said…..Full Article: Source

From Zawya.com: With house rents easing, a lot of people are moving into apartment complexes which have modern amenities. The trend was in witness three to four years ago, when mostly Western expatriates preferred to move into apartment buildings with more amenities, but with the housing shortage increasing, the pattern changed.

According to property market operators, the trend is back since the rental market is showing sure signs of a slump…..Full Article: Source

From Thezimbabwestandard.com: INVESTMENT in South Africa’s commercial real estate market produced double-digit nominal total returns for 2008 at 13.0%, according to the results of the SAPOA/IPD South African Property Index.

However, according to the index, with last year’s high inflation rate of 11.5% factored in, these returns equate to inflation-adjusted ’real returns’ of just 1.3% for 2008…..Full Article: Source

From Smh.com.au: The global financial crisis has created an unlikely property boom in Kabul, where four-bedroom houses now cost up to $500,000.

As prices across the world collapse, parts of the Afghan capital have seen values rise by 75 per cent in the past year, according to estate agents…..Full Article: Source

From Thestandard.com.hk: The residential property sector has improved dramatically with sales in the secondary market reaching a 62-week high and inventory units dropping for the first time since the financial tsunami struck, realtors said yesterday.

There were 74 deals in the 10 largest housing estates over the weekend, up 35 percent from the previous weekend, according to Midland Realty…..Full Article: Source

From Straitstimes.com: Construction firms that rely heavily on private-sector projects face tough times ahead as more property developers delay building works.

Even public spending recently earmarked for infrastructure work may not be enough to tide contractors over the slump in demand, as 60 per cent of such spending is for specialised civil engineering works which a typical contractor cannot take on…..Full Article: Source

From News.com.au: Would-be sellers are unlikely to put their houses under the hammer until the economy improves, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria says.

The total number of houses for sale is still far lower than last year, despite signs of a tentative recovery in the real estate market…..Full Article: Source

From Livemint.com: Financial services provider Edelweiss expects decline in real estate prices by around 60% over the next five to six years from its peak in the first quarter of 2008.
“Property prices in India increased sharply over the past 6-7 years, rising two and a half times over 2001 prices. We expect a price correction of 58% in real terms from the peak,” Edelweiss said in a report on real estate sector…..Full Article: Source

From Globalpropertyguide.com: The property market in Barbados remains buoyant. In early 2009, demand stayed strong, despite the global crisis. Property price increases have been about 10% to 15% annually over the past years, according to Cluttons Barbados.

At the upper-end market, prices of luxury houses have appreciated more than 15% per year, Cluttons adds…..Full Article: Source

From FT: EasyGroup entrepreneur Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou is to return to the commercial property market in the expectation that the sector is nearing the bottom of its two-year slump.

The EasyJet innovator, who does not own any commercial property, is planning to create a special vehicle to buy London office buildings at depressed prices. He plans to turn these properties into hotels and offices for use by his budget franchises, EasyHotel and EasyOffice…..Full Article: Source

From Independent: Invista Real Estate Investment Management, the London-listed property fund with £6.3bn of managed assets, sealed a deal over the weekend to expand into Asia.

The group, led by chief executive Duncan Owen, has entered a conditional contract to acquire the Asian real estate fund of Babcock & Brown, the collapsed Australian infrastructure investor. Mr Owen said that the deal will be complete by the end of next month, but did not comment on the price of the transaction…..Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Billionaire property investor Simon Halabi is seeking to refinance 1.4 billion pounds ($2 billion) of debt borrowed against nine London buildings at a time when few banks will lend to commercial real estate owners.

The debt, which was packaged into bonds, is the U.K.’s largest securitized real estate loan expiring in 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg…..Full Article: Source

From Reuters: BT Group is considering injecting its remaining property assets, including BT Tower and its headquarters close to St Paul’s Cathedral in London, into its pension fund as it tackles its deficit, the Sunday Times reported.

The newspaper said the company is looking to use the assets, which analysts value at about 300 million pounds ($439.9 million), to help bridge a deficit expected to be in excess of 5 billion pounds after its latest valuation…..Full Article: Source