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(LONDON) The British real estate industry is in danger of talking up a deeper market correction than is warranted, Robert Peto, chairman of property services firm DTZ said on Tuesday.

‘Clearly, we are in the middle of a massive readjustment,’ Mr Peto said, referring to a record 4 per cent slump in commercial property capital values in November. ‘But the unusually swift speed of this means we will reach a clearing price for UK commercial property much more quickly, and the recovery can begin,’ he said.

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Potential buyers included a private investor and two international funds.

UK-based New Star International Property Fund has received three offers to buy the Parakou Building in Robinson Road for 20 per cent more than the $128 million it paid in May.

But it has decided that the rental returns are just fine - for now.

‘We are in Singapore for the long term,’ said New Star Property Asset Management’s head of global property Stuart Webster.

The potential buyers of the Parakou Building included two international funds and a private investor, he said.

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(LONDON) Property development activity in the UK fell for the first time in four-and-a-half years in November as worries about a weakening property market outlook spread to the commercial building trade, data showed yesterday.

Gloomy outlook: Commercial property developers and building contractors are increasingly pessimistic about future work prospects, with a third of those surveyed forecasting a fall from current levels of activity in Q1

In a monthly survey of industry professionals, property services firm Savills said around 22 per cent reported a drop in activity in November, compared with 12 per cent reporting a rise.

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(LONDON) Global real estate investment is leaving behind an era of above-average returns and is set for leaner times but it will start to recover in 2009, according to RREEF, Deutsche Bank’s alternative investments arm.

‘There is some justification for the media hysteria but what we are seeing is a cyclical correction not the end of the asset class,’ Peter Hobbs of RREEF said in a telephone interview ahead of a speech yesterday at a Reuters real estate event.

‘We are expecting a cyclical slowdown, especially in more volatile and overpriced markets such as London, Madrid, Hong Kong, Singapore, Phoenix, and San Diego, but the long-term picture remains exciting,’ Mr Hobbs told Reuters.

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Average cost of a home declines 1.1% to £194,895 from a month earlier.

(LONDON) UK house prices fell for a third month in November, the worst performance in more than a decade, and consumer confidence slumped - signs that rising credit costs are hobbling growth in Europe’s second-largest economy.

Not always as safe as houses: British consumers are bracing for the housing market’s worst year in more than a decade — BLOOMBERG

The average cost of a home in Britain declined 1.1 per cent to £194,895 (S$581,820) from a month earlier, after a 0.7 per cent drop in October, a report by HBOS plc said yesterday.

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Moves in response to slowing property returns, rising redemption requests.

(LONDON) Britain’s multi-billion- pound property fund industry shored up some of its defences and eyed contingency plans on Tuesday in the face of a weakening domestic market and growing demands from investors to withdraw funds.

Aviva-owned Morley Fund Management said institutional investors in its pooled pensions property fund could have to wait a year to withdraw cash, while UBS and Deutsche Bank’s RREEF invoked similar clauses on their main UK property funds, according to market sources.

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It is banking on region’s economic prospects, 33% domestic savings rate.

(SINGAPORE) Barclays Capital, the investment arm of Britain’s third-biggest bank, plans to double revenue and staff in Asia in the next five years, putting its faith into growing Asian markets despite recent credit turmoil.

Ivan Ritossa, global head of foreign exchange and Asia rates, told Reuters yesterday that dislocation in credit markets was not expected to derail growth in financial markets in Asia and the rest of the world, and the worst may be over.

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Self-employed and those who move house frequently open to risk.

(LONDON) Up to one in three or 5.5 million mortgage holders in Britain could face serious financial difficulties as a result of the US sub-prime crisis and the tougher lending climate it has created, a study showed.

Cloudy outlook: One in five interested in getting a mortgage in future already foresee application problems because of income or personal circumstances

According to a report published by consumer research group Mintel yesterday, people with poor credit records were not the only ones at risk.

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(LONDON) British property firm Segro plc cautioned about continued weakness in Britain’s property markets, but it bought £400 million (S$1.19 billion) of property in its second half as it took advantage of good buying opportunities. In a trading update yesterday, the firm said financial market turmoil was taking a toll on the UK property market, increasing the likelihood of asset writedowns and reducing the number of active participants in the market.

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