According to the first comprehensive post-referendum data, a total of £8.7bn investments were put into property in the three months to September while the usual deal declined to £13.6m - marking the lowest investment rate since the pits of the 2009 financial crisis.
£1.7bn of Central London offices, which falls to almost two-thirds compared to a year earlier, were bought by investors during the quarter, with only four deals higher than £100m down from 15 from the preceding year.
Figures were issued by CoStar Group. Mark Stansfield, its Managing Analyst said that investment for UK commercial properties is down quite sharply especially in Central London.
"Everyone has been sitting on their hands. They are not sure where the prices are, and a lot of properties have been withdrawn because the sellers were not prepared to accept the prices being offered." Stansfield furthered.
Buildings were withdrawn from the market over the referendum period together with a number of deals which were cut-down, including an office building at 1 Wood Street in London City which has been eyed by German investors KanAm for £190m before the vote. As of the date, said office building is currently being marketed for only £180m, a price five per cent lower than its pre-referendum amount.
Aside from the affected commercial properties in London, a landmark office block in Manchester at 1 St. Peter's Square was offered at £175m before the vote on June 23. However, it was later on bought by Deka Immobilien for only £164m, 6 per cent less than the price it was originally offered.
Conversely, Stansfield affirmed that a series of large expected sales, which includes CityPoint tower, is being marketed for £600m. According to him, this would also help for the fast recovery of the London market. But he advised that "prices will likely to continue to fall".
CoStar is a provider of information, analytics and marketing services to the commercial real estate industry in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Spain. The company's suite of online service offerings includes information about space available for lease, sales information, tenant information, information about properties for sale, Internet marketing services, analytical capabilities, information for clients' Websites, information about industry professionals and their business relationships, data integration and industry news.
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