Property deals are rising, but is this the market taking flight…or dead cat bouncing? Deals involving premium property and players Canary Wharf, HSBC and Blackstone suggest that things are heating up for the high end of commercial real estate. At the same time, many believe that we may be seeing a bifurcation of this market, with the low end stagnating. Driving this shift are multiple factors, both legal and financial, and a whole lot of foreign money flowing in from places from Bermuda to Korea.
As backdrop, until recently the banking crisis has badly battered the commercial property sector in London. The market was doubly damaged by twin cyclones of falling property prices and a deflating banking and finance sector – a sector that
central London property developers are heavily reliant upon. Amidst this trouble, a new level of activity has emerged for premium properties in particular.
