Demand for commercial property in Europe, Asia Pacific and the
Americas has seen impressive growth during the first quarter of
2013, according to research from international real estate
consultants, Jones Lang LaSalle.

Preliminary data shows direct investment volumes reaching US$94
billion, up 8% on the first quarter of 2012. The research, which
covers 60 countries across the world, shows that commercial real
estate is a high priority for worldwide investors while
demonstrating positive global economic recovery.

All regions showed year-on-year increases, with the Americas,
Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific 7-8% higher
than in 2012. Of these, Germany, Japan, and the United States all
performed particularly impressively.

In Asia Pacific, year-on-year growth was primarily driven by a
30% increase in Japanese investment volumes and strong demand in
Singapore and Hong Kong; overall the region was 8% up on 2012. High
growth in the Americas was driven by primarily by the US and
Canada, with growth of 20% and 6% respectively.

The United Kingdom, France and Germany all contributed to
European investment growth, with Germany a massive 40% higher than
2012. Jones Lang La Salle expect total 2013 investment volumes to
rise over  US$450 billion, with further quarterly growth as
the year progresses:

"Volumes of almost US$100 billion in the first quarter of the
year, in what is historically a quieter period, demonstrates the
desire investors continue to have for direct real estate
investments," said Arthur de Haast, head of the International
Capital Group at Jones Lang LaSalle.

"Encouraged by a slowly improving global economic environment
and rising property values, especially in core cities, the number
of assets for sale continues to increase," he added.

David Green-Morgan, global capital markets research director,
said:

"Vendors are cheered by an increasing number of buyers examining
assets in more secondary locations. These two factors are helping
to drive volumes higher and we expect this to continue for the
remainder of 2013".

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