GLOBAL SUMMARY
The global property investment market saw a modest 6% rise in activity over the course of 2012, with volumes up to US $929 billion. This estimate includes revisions made by RCA to their published year-end numbers, prior to which the global estimate was US $907 billion, excluding development sites in mature markets. However, the lasting impression of this year will not be one of steady growth but rather of an exceptionally busy year-end masking three quarters of quite stagnant levels of performance, in what for most markets was a difficult year.
Increased seasonality has in fact been a growing feature of the global market for some time-with 2012 seeing the third 4th quarter spike in a row- nonetheless there is still every reason to view these figures more positively and believe that a modest recovery is starting to get under way.
China and the US were two key engines of this strong finish-the former benefiting from a record high in land right sales and the latter seeing a rush of activity to beat year-end capital gains tax hikes.
