UK monthly index – UK commercial property performance stable

CBRE’s latest Monthly Index was largely unchanged to the end of January 2013. The All UK Property segment recorded a total return of 0.3% in the month, unchanged from December with annual total returns picking up slightly to 2.1%. Capital values continued to slip, declining 0.2% in January, which
was also a repeat of the declines recorded in the final two months of 2012.

In January, for the ninth month running, central London offices were the only sector where capital values increased, up by 0.3%. In offices outside of the capital, values fell by 1.1% over the month. Overall retail values fell by 0.3% in January, however, retail warehouses showed some signs of stabilization with a capital value decline of just 0.1%.

Rental values across All UK Property were flat in January, having grown marginally in both November and December. The shopping centre segment saw the largest fall in rents (-0.4%). Offices in London, both central and non-central/M25, were the only two sectors to see rental growth, up by 0.8% and 0.2% respectively over the month.

David Inskip, Associate Director, Research, CBRE, said:
“These figures show that the improved sentiment seen in equity markets and the broader economy since the turn of the year is yet to feed through into the UK property market. In particular, the decline in retail rents is a clear reflection of the troubles facing stores at present including a number of major chain administrations. Fortunately an improving outlook for household incomes should help to mitigate this as the year progresses.”