FACTBOX: Global property investment hit record in 2007

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Last year was a record for global property investment, with cross-border flows rising steeply and more money crossing between the main regions of Europe, Asia and the Americas.

However, the global credit crunch took its toll in the second half of the year. Transactions rose 25 percent in the first half from the previous year, but fell 8 percent in the second half from the corresponding period of 2006. Data from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shows transaction volumes globally in the first five months of 2008 were 40 percent lower than in the same period last year, dragged down by weaker activity in Europe and the United States.

Global direct commercial real estate investment

2007 2006 Total transactions

$759 bln $700 bln Cross-border (% total) $357 bln $299 bln Inter-regional (% total) $242 bln $210 bln Major markets

2007 2006 USA $282 bln $271 bln UK

$96 bln $115 bln Germany $72 bln $62 bln Japan $60 bln $52 bln Major cross-border markets

2007 2006 US $82 bln $65 bln Germany $51 bln $51 bln UK $50 bln $61 bln France $33 bln

$23 bln Major cross-border investors

2007 Global $104 bln UK $33 bln Germany $26 bln US $25 bln

(source: Jones Lang LaSalle)

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(Reporting by Dominic Whiting; Editing by Kim Coghill)