Global commercial real estate (CRE) investment volumes are up 44% year-over-year, according to the first quarter 2011 edition of Jones Lang LaSalle's Global Market Perspective, which states that full-year volumes can exceed $440 billion, a 35% to 40% increase from 2010 levels and the highest volume since 2007.
According to Jones Lang LaSalle, capital values for prime office assets in major cities rose by 22% over the past year, while several markets recorded prime yields that approached levels reached in the previous cycle's peak in 2007. The report found the global office vacancy rate at 14.2%, although it is gradually falling.
The so-called BRICS group of emerging marketss (Brazil, Russia, India and China) accounted for 13% of global CRE investment volumes in the first quarter, compared to approximately 2% in 2007. The report lauded the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo as ‘one of the world's most dynamic office markets, characterized by rapid rental growth, strong corporate occupier demand, low vacancy and a development boom.’
The full report is available online.
