Investors who bought office buildings in the south-east of the UK at the top of the property bubble this year are nursing paper losses of up to 26% in a striking example of how quickly the market has turned according to the Financial Times and The Times.
Research from Knight Frank shows that yields (rent as a proportion of a building’s price) on City of London offices have jumped from 4.25% to 5.25% while yields in the West End have risen from 4% to 4.75%.
This suggests a fall in prices of 23% and 19% respectively.
Although the data are estimates, they are a clear sign of the direction the commercial property market has taken.
Investment in Central London offices fell to £2.3bn in the fourth quarter, down from £6bn in the third quarter, and £6.4bn of deals in the second quarter, according to Cushman & Wakefield as a squeeze on credit froze out leveraged buyers.
Cushman predicts that cash-rich investors will start buying in the coming months.
