Global Commercial Property Investment Activity Spikes 74% in 2010

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According to Jones Lang LaSalle, investments in commercial property are up 74 percent in the first half of 2010, led by a sharp increase in cross-border deals.

International deals almost doubled in the first half, compared to the same period of 2009, up to $56.8 billion, the firm says. Cross-border investments represented about 43 percent of the transactions, in contrast to a low of 31 percent in 2009.

"After the retrenchment in 2008 and 2009 of many investors to their domestic markets, 2010 has seen a bounce back to pre-crisis proportions of cross-border activity," Richard Bloxam, head of pan-EMEA capital markets, said in a statement. 

While the volume of deals is still low compared to the boom years, the increased flow into property represents evidence of renewed confidence in markets, especially as investors look for good prices around the world. Middle East investors, for example, were twice as active in international markets than in 2009, the data shows.

"The rise in cross border transaction volume also shows a real estate return in the major markets," Steve Collins, managing director, Americas, International Capital Group, told the Khaleej Times

Europe attracted the most interest, accounting for 54 percent of the activity in the first half of 2010, JLL says.

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