RCA in the commercial property press:

HSBC’s Skyscraper Sales May Fetch 40% Less Than at Market Peak

Bloomberg reports: HSBC Holdings Plc’s planned sale of its London, New York and Paris offices may bring Europe’s biggest bank about 40 percent less than the properties would have fetched at the 2007 market peak.

The sales may raise about $2.24 billion, 38 percent less than in 2007, according to real estate analysts in the three cities. HSBC’s London headquarters might be worth about $1.2 billion (800 million pounds), said William Newsom, head of U.K. valuation for Savills Plc. The Paris office could sell for about $665.7 million, according to Etienne Prongue of property consultant Atisreal. And HSBC “would be lucky” to get $400 million in Manhattan, said Dan Fasulo of Real Capital Analytics.

Values have dropped by at least 15 percent and as much as 45 percent for the three buildings, according to Savills, Atisreal and Real Capital. Those declines, along with the falling value of the pound, would mean HSBC brings in about $1.35 billion less than it would have at the market peak. The bank is raising cash after mortgage-related losses and asset write-downs of $42.2 billion since the third quarter of 2007.

HSBC said April 12 it was considering selling the three properties after receiving inquiries from potential buyers. The company plans to lease back the offices from any buyer.

There is a limited pool of potential buyers, Sierra said. Global property acquisitions fell 73 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, to $47 billion, or 1,014 properties, according to Real Capital Analytics.