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by Kenny Ho, head of China research, Jones Lang LaSalle.

A shortage of assets at home sent Australian listed property trusts overseas to seek opportunities. Unfortunately, the global credit crunch has left those invested abroad badly exposed and looking to regroup. Some are making a better fist of this than others. Chris Wright reports.

By Michel Heller, CB Richard Ellis/GFI.

by Timo Tschammler, managing director of the international investment team, and Nicholas Spiro, director in the central and east European investment team, at DTZ.

Despite commercial property values having plummeted some 12% since the start of the credit crunch, London’s lure is still strong for some investors, particularly Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds.

While the CPI is way above target, asset prices, notably stocks and housing are falling. It may be therefore more meaningful to see this as a deflationary environment.

Sizing up sovereign investment

Borrowers and mortgage lenders are feeling the pinch of an unprecedented credit crunch. Is there any way back to the buoyant days when securitization drove the market? Duncan Wood reports.

A new kind of crunch

Any time Norway’s Government Pension Fund makes a move in the markets it is big news. Rachel Wolcott speaks to Martin Skancke, head of asset management at the Norwegian finance ministry, about the fund’s plans to move into real estate investing.

GE Real Estate is at the forefront of a growing trend to acquire real estate loans at a discount. Players such as GE with the ability to put cash to work are able to take advantage of opportunities coming on the market from lenders unable to hold on to loans that have dropped in value or have breached loan-to-value covenants. While GE has completed three large deals in the past six months, others are attracted to the value these assets offer. "We’re seeing banks offloading loans from their balance sheets," says Ian Gleeson, international multi-manager at Morley Fund Management, during a session at GRI’s London event in May. "We are looking at buying private loans at a discount. There are some bargains out there."

US lawmakers are trying to ease the pain of homeowners caught up in the sub-prime debacle with tighter regulation and a push towards greater use of long-term fixed-rate mortgages over unpredictable adjustable-rate deals. Will a new era of thrift replace the sub-prime excesses? Perhaps not if the US feels the playing field is not level. Julian Marshall reports.