Global recession seals real estate downturn In line with changes in our global economic view, we have made significant downgrades to our commercial real estate forecasts for the next couple of years. As a result, we now expect a much bigger drop in property values next year that will cause annual returns to be negative in all our key markets. In view of the wider interest, we are also sending this UK Commercial Property Update to clients of our US and Europe Commercial Property Services. 8th November 2022
Fracturing and financial flows The trend towards ever more “financial globalisation” has already decelerated and will probably slow further as the global economy fractures and policymakers favour resilience over efficiency. While a disorderly rupture of financial relations remains unlikely, links between the US and China will weaken. 6th October 2022
The signs of shifting cycles In recent weeks, attention has shifted from the likely size of rates hikes towards the timing of peaks and the prospect of ultimate cuts. History can tell us little about the likely profile since no two cycles have been quite the same. And central bank communications are not a reliable guide either – they have tended to warn of further tightening to come months after the peak has been reached in the past. Instead, we will have to monitor the incoming data very closely. Weakness in the housing market and signs of a let-up in underlying price pressures in Canada and the US, respectively, support our forecast that they will cut sooner and/or more aggressively than is typically assumed. 10th November 2022
Bonds may outperform equities amid a global recession After moving in broadly the same direction for much of 2022, we think that the returns from “safe” assets will generally diverge from those from “risky” assets between now and around the middle of next year. We suspect that long-dated government bond yields have peaked in most places and will fall back further as inflation eases and the global economy enters a recession. Meanwhile, we expect this to mean that most risky assets continue to struggle, despite lower “risk-free” interest rates. That said, we think that risky assets will generally rebound later on in 2023 and in 2024, as the global economy eventually turns a corner and government bond yields continue to edge lower. EM Drop-In (Thursday 3rd Nov): This 20-minute emerging markets briefing will take in our latest views on how the macroeconomic picture will inform EM financial markets, what Brazil’s election result means for the country’s economic outlook and our forecasts for Hungary’s forint and the Colombian peso. Register here. 1st November 2022
Early zero-COVID exit would hurt economy in 2023 A shift away from zero-COVID would be positive for China’s economy over the medium term. But the immediate disruption of reopening would probably exceed the cost of keeping the policy in place, especially if vaccine coverage among the elderly hadn’t risen substantially ahead of any shift. If China were to abandon zero-COVID now, that would warrant a lower not higher GDP forecast for next year. 10th November 2022
Broad-based decline in core inflation coming soon Despite the unanticipated strength in recent months, there are still good reasons to expect core inflation to fall markedly next year. That moderation will not require a deep recession and/or significant rise in the unemployment rate, although we do expect weak demand and easing labour market conditions to play a supporting role. Most of the coming decline in core inflation is already “baked into the cake” – private sector rent measures and other housing indicators point to a significant drop back in shelter cost inflation, while CPI medical care services will fall as the ridiculous spike in health insurance prices is reversed. The stronger dollar, easing supply shortages and collapse in transportation costs all but guarantee a slump in core goods inflation. We expect core CPI inflation to be below 2.5% by end-2023 and core PCE inflation to be around the 2% target. Both measures should fall below 2% in 2024. 2nd November 2022
Don’t miss the bigger picture in natural gas markets While front-month European natural gas prices have fallen sharply as concerns have eased around shortages this winter, longer-dated futures haven’t fallen by as much. That reflects how difficult it will be to fill storage without Russian gas flows next year. With global gas markets becoming increasingly integrated, this is likely to translate into higher US gas and LNG prices too. In view of the wider interest, we are also sending this Energy Update to clients of our Euro-zone service. 4th November 2022
Gold and silver prices to rise next year Gold and silver prices fell following Chair Powell’s hawkish comments yesterday. But if we are right in thinking US rates won’t rise by as much as markets expect, gold and silver prices should increase next year. We forecast prices to rise from $1,630 and $19 per ounce today to $1,700 and $19.5 by end 2023. 3rd November 2022
Recoveries still lagging in the major coastal markets Q2 data showed a mixed picture across the three sectors. For offices, the northern coastal markets continue to lag, with rent growth turning positive but still weaker than most other markets. Houston had an awful quarter for demand, and new supply in Seattle pushed vacancy up quickly there too. In the apartments sector demand slowed across the markets. Southern metros like Miami and Austin continue to see stronger demand, but there were also decent gains elsewhere, including Boston and D.C. And for industrial, there was a rebound in demand after a slow Q1, but it remains below the levels seen in H2 2021. Phoenix was the big winner here, continuing to benefit from extremely low vacancy in LA, Riverside and San Diego. But capital growth slowed notably in Q2 and we expect an even sharper slowdown in Q3 as cap rates face upward pressure. 24th August 2022
Will property be a problem again? The UK property market has a long history of either causing or worsening recessions. But that history has taught both banks and regulators a lesson. So while higher debt payments, falling property prices and a slump in construction will play a major role in dragging the economy into recession, we don’t expect the sector to trigger a banking crisis. Banks have far less exposure to commercial property today compared to the past, while more cautious lending practices have reduced the riskiness of mortgage debt and lenders have plentiful capital buffers to absorb losses. In view of the wider interest, we are also sending this UK Housing Market Update to clients of our UK Commercial Property and UK Economics Services. 19th October 2022
UK Commercial Property Outlook Recession to hit rental growth as yields rise The surge in interest rates in recent months has quickly been reflected in property yields, and as a result we have brought forward some of our forecasted rise in yields from 2023 into 2022. But with... 28th November 2022 · 28 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Update Consensus view of 2023 office rents is too optimistic The latest IPF Consensus survey showed a significant upgrade to 2022 European office rent growth expectations, largely due to strong rent outturns in Q2 and Q3 this year. A slowdown is expected in... 24th November 2022
Non-Euro Europe Commercial Property Chart Book Emerging Europe: Capital values fall in most of CEE Property yield rises stepped up in Q3, causing all-property capital values to fall on a quarterly basis in the CEE markets except for Bucharest. This was despite solid office and industrial rental... 23rd November 2022
US Commercial Property Chart Book Capital value falls set to accelerate The sharp rise in Treasury yields this year has finally begun to feed through to the property data. Q3 investment activity fell by more than 20% on both a q/q and y/y basis, with loan originations... 22nd November 2022
Non-Euro Europe Commercial Property Chart Book Scandinavia & Switzerland: Property yields jump Prime property yields rose significantly in Q3. This caused a sharp slowdown in capital value growth, even though rental growth was solid in the Scandinavian office and industrial sectors. Stockholm... 22nd November 2022
Euro-zone Commercial Property Chart Book Sharpest fall in all-property values since 2009 Q1 Higher interest rates and a weaker outlook for economic activity led to a more significant rise in property yields in Q3. While quarterly rental rises remained solid, particularly for offices and... 18th November 2022
UK Commercial Property Update Rising vacancy will cut London office rents Even as Central London office vacancy rates rose to a 12-year peak in Q3, annual rental growth ticked-up to three-year high. That marks a reversal from the situation prior to COVID-19, when a tight... 15th November 2022
Europe Commercial Property Update Barcelona prime offices to underperform Madrid Spanish office rental values are expected to be harder hit than the euro-zone average as the looming recession weighs on occupier demand and higher interest rates push up yields. However, at a market... 9th November 2022
Europe Commercial Property Update What does recession mean for German prime offices? German prime office rental growth is expected to slow sharply next year as the economy experiences the deepest recession in the euro-zone. Even so, we don’t expect rental growth to underperform as the... 2nd November 2022
Europe Commercial Property Update Helsinki office vacancy to edge higher Helsinki office vacancy jumped in Q3 and is likely to trend higher over the next couple of years as occupier demand weakens, completions rise and there are fewer office-to-residential conversions. As... 27th October 2022
UK Commercial Property Update Offices see biggest fall in our rental downgrade With interest rates now higher, we have made downgrades to our forecast for UK GDP growth. We expect that this will bring a sharper deceleration in rental growth at the all-property level, with falls... 17th October 2022
US Commercial Property Update Structural change and higher rates still key to sector returns The weaker economic growth outlook will weigh most heavily on the retail and apartment sectors, where we have made the largest downgrades to our rental growth forecasts. But the relatively small size... 14th October 2022
Europe Commercial Property Update Gloomy outlook for Prague office rents The post-pandemic rebound in the Prague office market is likely to prove short-lived. With the Czech economy slowing and employment expected to contract, occupier demand will soften just as new office... 14th October 2022
US Commercial Property Update Falling rent-frees do not point to an office recovery REIS data show rent-free periods dropped back in the first half of the year, hinting at a tightening market. But with occupiers still rationalising their office portfolios, we expect vacancy to tick... 6th October 2022
US Commercial Property Update Charlotte office rental growth to outpace US average We think the Charlotte office market will continue to outperform the US average, as firms capitalise on the city’s affordability and position as a prominent financial district. As such, even though... 5th October 2022
Europe Commercial Property Update Weaker demand to limit Paris office rent growth Falls in Paris Centre West vacancy are expected to support a further pick-up in prime office rents in the second half of the year. But this will be short-lived, with the deteriorating outlook for... 4th October 2022
