Commercial property sales plunge worldwide

New York: Global sales of investment grade real estate plunged 73 per cent to $47 billion (Dh172.5 billion) in the first quarter from a year ago, or just one-sixth of the level two years ago, according to real estate research firm Real Capital Analytics on Friday.

A total of 1,014 properties, each worth more than $10 million, sold worldwide from January through March, the firm said in a monthly report, noting that the slump affected all property types and just about every market.

Making things worse, the number of properties that need to refinance or need capital infusions is soaring. New reports of defaulted mortgages and failed commercial property companies surpassed $55 billion in the first quarter, bringing the total known distressed commercial properties to $153 billion.