Posts Tagged ‘Europe’
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
Debt-laden European governments seeking ways to raise money are considering the possibility of selling public properties such as office buildings. Countries considering selling assets include Germany, the U.K., France and Greece, all of which were hit hard by the global banking crisis.
“It is clear that several European governments are looking to secure disposals on a large scale,” noted Richard Holberton, a CB Richard Ellis director. Although Holberton says it’s not clear what effect these sales would have on government funds, “their impact on real estate markets could be a lot more significant.” Government-owned assets comprised between two and 2 ½ percent of all European public sales since 2006. That could double this year, according to CBRE, and could account for four percent of the €100 billion — $125 billion - that will be sold this year.
Although some properties are expected to attract significant purchaser interest, some government buildings won’t sell so easily. Surplus office buildings could be in undesirable locations, for example. Prime assets that are still occupied by government offices will have far more appeal to investors. “Where assets are well located, of good quality, and continue to produce income from occupation by a public-sector tenant, this generates an income stream that is attractive to investors,” Holberton said.
Tags: CB Richard Ellis, debt, Europe, France, Germany, Global banking crisis, Greece, UK
Posted in Development, Economics, Office | No Comments »
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
The wealth of the world’s high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) declined by nearly one fifth last year to $33 trillion, according to the 2009 World Wealth Report from Merrill Lynch and Capgemini. A HNWI has at least $1 million of assets besides a primary residence, its contents and collectible items. In 2008, the number of HNWIs fell to 8.6 million, or slightly more than 0.1 percent of the world’s population.
Their wealth declined by more than 20 percent in North America, Europe and Asia, and by a bit less in Africa and the Middle East. Latin America’s rich were the least affected: they lost just six percent of their wealth, and the number of HNWIs there fell by less than one percent. In North America, which had a large proportion of people just above the $1 million threshold, the ranks slimmed by 19 percent.
An interesting aside: That $33 trillion is almost half of the $70 trillion that constitutes the subset of global savings known as fixed-income securities - or, all the money in the world.
Tags: Africa, Europe, fixed-income securities, global savings, Latin America, Merrill Lynch, Middle East, money, North America, wealth
Posted in Economics, General | No Comments »
Monday, June 29th, 2009
The best way to survive a recession is to have a strategic plan firmly in place when the inevitable downturn happens. That’s the opinion of Larry Armstrong, President of Ware Malcomb, an Irvine, CA-based international architectural firm with ongoing projects in the United States, Latin America, Asia and Europe.
In a recent interview for the Alter NOW Podcasts, Armstrong says “There is no question that we learned everything about saving a business and building a business during the 1990s downturn.” In fact, Armstrong’s firm wrote a recession plan several years ago and determined exactly how they would react. “You have to look at what revenue can support what level of staff and all the additional expenses and costs which, over time, become discretionary. You have to look at those and decide what is necessary and what isn’t,” according to Armstrong.
The current environment does not support ego-driven, icon architecture. Rather, there is a move towards thrift, because corporate users want to be seen as economical and functional — not as extravagant. The recession also has impacted Corporate America’s attitude towards green design and LEED-certified buildings. According to Armstrong, “We’re seeing a bit of a retreat - not major - and a vast majority of our projects are still LEED certified”. Still, if the project is industrial, Armstrong is not hearing a desire for LEED certification anymore.
To listen to Larry Armstrong’s full interview on architecture during a recession, click here for the podcast.
Larry Armstrong on Architecture in a Recession:
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Tags: Asia, business, California, Corporate America, corporate users, economical, ego-driven, Entrepreneur of the Year, Europe, expenses, functional, green design, icon architecture, Industrial, international architectural firm, Irvine, Irvine CA, Larry Armstrong, Latin America, LEED certified, LEED certified buildings, recession, recession plan, revenue, strategic plan, United States, Ware Malcomb
Posted in General | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
Slowly advancing first-quarter sales may not make this the right time to pop the champagne corks-though it does represent a plateau compared with the previous quarter and suggests that the bottom may be in sight. This update comes from Real Capital Analytics (RCA), which warns that “there is no recovery in sight”.
In its June Global Capital Trends, RCA notes that property sales in the Americas totaled an estimated $8 billion during the second quarter, down just six percent from the first quarter, an 83 percent drop 
compared with last year. Second-quarter totals for EMEA markets are down 24 percent from the first quarter to just $17.3 billion, a 71 percent drop from 2008. The good news is in the Asia Pacific markets, where RCA projects an 18 percent gain over the first quarter with a total of $23.3 billion in sales, approximately half of the second-quarter worldwide numbers.
According to Robert M. White, Jr., RCA’s founder and president, “We’re probably at the bottom “in terms of transaction activity. Globally, the upturn will be sporadic. “If anything, the downturn was correlated more closely across property rates and geographic regions than the recovery will be. Activity in Europe is growing, especially in the U.K. And there is a buzz in the U.S., too. In the past few weeks, we’ve seen more and larger deals. I wouldn’t say it’s a quick rebound, but frankly I don’t think volume could sink any lower in the U.S.”
Pricing may be a different story, White cautions. “We may already be there, but none of it will be realized until these distressed deals close. We can look forward to move activity” in the fall and through year’s end.
Tags: Asia Pacific, China, Eastern Europe, EMEA markets, Europe, geographic regions, Global Capital Trends, globally, Japan, property sales, RCA, Real Capital Analytics, recovery, sales, UK, United Kingdom, US, Western Europe
Posted in Economics, Financing, Office | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
Shipping activity has plunged as much as one-third at U.S. ports most heavily invested in the once red-hot but now declining Asia trade.
Freight rates from South China to Europe have slid as much as 42 percent from some ports since November, leading shipping industry authority Drewry Container Freight Rate Insight Report to speculate that this once-robust market is in freefall.
As freight rates fall to record lows shipping companies are playing hardball to remain competitive, even though relatively little product is being shipped these days. According to Drewry, container lines could see a $68 billion plunge in global revenues this year, compared with 2008 revenues of $220 billion. Drewry notes that global all-in freight rates fell to $1,681 per 40-foot box, down from $2,098 in November. That’s a steep $400 drop per feu (forty-foot equivalent unit) or 20 percent in just two months.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are slashing cargo rates to retain old customers and attract whatever new business they can. Spanning 10,000 acres, these vast ports typically handle $357 billion in goods every year. The ripple effect of this year’s overall 18.1 percent downturn is evident in California’s vital Inland Empire logistics market, where higher vacancy rates - now approaching nine percent — are translating to cheaper rents.
Conditions are slightly better at the East Coast ports of New York and New Jersey, because their diverse mix of trading partners include Asia, Europe, Latin America and South America.
Tags: Asia, California, cargo rates, Dewry Container Frieght Rate, Drewry, East Coast ports, Europe, feu, freight rates, global revenue, Inland Empire, Latin America, logistics market, Long Beach, Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York, ports, South America, South China, vacancy rates
Posted in Economics, Industrial | No Comments »