2019 Moscow real estate market outlook

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There are signs of recovery on the Moscow commercial real estate market, selective rental rates growth will spread out everywhere After long stagnation, the vacancy rates across all Moscow commercial real estate segments have declined to a low level, leading to a start of construction activity, and some submarkets have already recorded smooth rental rates […]

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Two for the price of one: What to expect from Moscow property markets and What to expect from 2018 year end valuations

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I promised in my last blog (Decoding the Russian enigma) a further post dealing with my expectations for the Russian property markets. I have also been considering giving my thoughts on what to expect in general terms (i.e. they cannot be held against me in specific valuations!) for 2018 year end valuations. We are approaching […]

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Decoding the Russian enigma

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Russia seems to be hewing ever closer to Churchill’s aphorism: as a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. It is increasingly difficult to predict what may happen next. A mixture of outside events and curious self-defeating actions, at least from an external perspective, have effects that are extremely uncertain. It may seem then […]

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Russia: New old challenges

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Russia’s nascent economic recovery from the 2014-2016 recession and recent stabilisation have been disrupted by fresh US sanctions. The April round has shifted the USD/RUB exchange rate by about 7% weaker, to c.62. The combined impact of the draft bill introduced by a number of US Senators led by Lindsey Graham on 1 August and […]

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More US sanctions on Russia

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The US continues to impose new sanctions on Russia to threaten additional ones. A bill introduced last week by US Senator Linsey Graham includes a ban on new Russian sovereign debt purchases by US individuals and banks and on Russian state banks. This week, the US has imposed a new set of sanctions against Russia […]

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Russia – separating noise from reality

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It is like 2014 all over again… I have written three draft opinions in recent days – only for them to be overtaken by events. In the deluge of news and volatility I have but one message: DON’T PANIC I believe markets have overshot and will correct. We are already seeing the Russian stock market […]

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How digitalisation change commercial real estate

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Digital technologies are everywhere around us. Using the Internet we read the news, check emails and update our calendars, review social networks and news feeds, and communicate with people via instant messengers. We visit banking branches less frequently, as we pay bills either online or through mobile applications. We order food and make purchases online. […]

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Russia: (Even) lower inflation, lower interest rates

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The Bank of Russia (CBR) has just announced the Board decision to cut its key rate by 25bp, from 7.75% to 7.50%. The move was broadly anticipated, although following the January inflation print, some market analysts had called for a 50bp rate cut. Inflation dropped to a new historical low of 2.2% YoY in January […]

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Supply Chains & Real Estate – No Longer Disconnected by a Common Language

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A little over a year ago I made my first ever visit across that big pond and immediately upon visiting London, was told to “Mind the gap” by the polite, omnipresent voice on the Piccadilly line. Excuse me? You mean “Watch your step”, right? Utterly confused, I trekked on to JLL’s office for a friendly […]

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European resilience in the face of the emerging market turbulence: 3 reasons for optimism about the outlook

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This week, the economic news has been full of gloomy reflections on a very difficult quarter for financial markets. In Q3, stock prices have slumped by around 10% in the developed world and faster still in emerging markets, the sharpest falls in 4 years. Underlying this is evidence of a sharp slowdown in China’s real […]

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Will rising rates bring this investment cycle to an end?

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Global transactional volumes continued their period of growth in the second quarter growing by 9% over the first half of this year.  At half year transactional activity stands at US$333 billion almost 50% up on the same period just two years ago, demonstrating the attraction of real assets in this current cycle. The longer this […]

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The UK needs to look at its capabilities, including land and property, to secure its manufacturing future

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Recent figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that in the first six months of this year, UK car manufacturing reached its highest half year total since 2008, with some 793,642 car rolling off UK production lines; and this follows a stellar 2014 in which UK car manufacturers produced just under […]

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