German commercial property seen trapped in regulated market

German commercial property investment reached e3.6bn in first half 2009, the lowest in recent years, and because banks are supported by state guarantees or equity, the market should be considered a regulated system, says a top Frankfurt realtor. Oliver Obert, MD of realtor BNP Paribas Real Estate, formerly Atisreal, described the market as in a lethargy. Property owners want to sell but cannot get prices they want since buyers anticipate further falls; buyers have limited access to bank credit due to caution by lending institutions; banks are not forced to foreclose on existing lines since they are being propped up by government intervention, often through their equity. "I would call what we have now not exactly a free market but a kind of regulated market," he told journalists today. (Full story to be published in PFE 129 on 13 July)