Global direct commercial real estate (CRE) investment volumes totaled more than $101 billion in the second quarter, up 7% from the first quarter and up 47% from the second quarter of 2010, according to the latest data released by Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle.
‘Based on current momentum and transactions in the pipeline, we believe that full-year volumes are now on track to exceed $440 billion, which would represent 35 to 40 percent growth on 2010 levels and the highest volume since 2007,’ the company notes in its Global Market Perspective for the second quarter.
Investment volume in the U.S. commercial property market rose to $49 billion in the second quarter, up 56% year-over-year. The report determined that the U.S. office leasing market has ‘reached near-universal stabilization’ and that the technology sector ‘has been rapidly expanding its real estate footprint and, unlike the past 'tech bubble' [in 2000], demand is being underpinned by more robust fundamentals.’
The report also found global office vacancy rates were ‘gradually trending downwards from their peak in early 2010,’ with the current vacancy rate at 14.2% (across 94 cities), compared to 14.5% at its high point in third quarter of 2010. However, the Asia Pacific market is seen as ‘approaching the peak of its development cycle’ and may see an increase in its vacancy rates later this year.
The full report is available online.
