The UK is unlikely to experience distressed commercial property
growth next year, according to a property specialist.

It is unlikely the British commercial property will experience a
price growth for sites ripe for commercial development in the
coming months, says Kelvin Davidson, property economist at the
economic research consultancy Capital Economics.

Mr Davidson has warned the price growth of UK commercial
property has grinded to a halt, with prices likely to remain flat
for at least the next 12 months.

He said: "There is quite a lot of money floating around and not
much property for sale, so I would think that an increase in the
number of properties to buy for whatever reason - whether it be
foreclosure or whatever - would actually be quite welcome."

Despite Mr Davidson's claims, the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors (RICS) has indicated worldwide demand for distressed
commercial property actually rose significantly in Q2 2011.

Following a survey conducted by the RICS it was revealed over 80
per cent of countries reported increased levels of interest from
commercial property investment funds during Q2 2011.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, said: "It is interesting
to see agents reporting a dramatic rise in investor appetite for
distressed assets, quarter over quarter.

"To some extent, this may be seen as an encouraging development
reflecting a measure of confidence in the outlook for the real
estate sector despite the softer tone to the macro news flow.

"However, it needs to be borne in mind that the results are very
country specific with generally negative numbers coming from those
markets where the economic pain is most intense."

 

Image: Salvatore Vuono

—