RCA in the commercial property press:

International real estate hits bottom

Les Affaires reports: This article has been translated from French by Google Translate.

"No recovery, but little room left to fall." This analysis of real estate transactions according to Real Capital Analytics.

The firm's latest study, Global Capital Trends, concludes that the fall in transaction activity for global real estate is coming to an end. The New York company said at the end of the second quarter, the total value of transactions has decreased by only 5% over the first quarter, after a collapse of 67% in one year.

"We seem to be approaching the bottom," said Pete Culliney, chief analyst at Real Capital. "There is nothing for sure, but we can hope for recovery. We're at a point where transactions can not decrease."

The sharp decline was for two and a half years. In the first quarter of 2007, worldwide sales reached $295 billion U.S. dollars at the end of the current quarter, they will be more than 49 billion, according to RCA. This represents 84% of the value of transactions in the world.

The United States being the epicenter of the global financial crisis, the American continent is hardest hit, declining 95% of the value of transactions.

For the first time, the Asia-Pacific region has the highest real estate activity. The value of transactions there declined by half since early 2007.