Investors offered advice - commercial mortgages

02 February 2009

Holders of commercial mortgages have been offered some advice on how to make investments in the current economic climate.

Jason Butler, a partner at Bloomsbury Financial Planning, recommended that commercial property purchasers look at the Barclays Global Investors index fund to get an outline of what is happening in the market.

He noted that economic events have taken their toll on the industry, saying that "high rents, high rates and other squeezes" have had an impact.

"There is massive oversupply, whether it be shops, offices or factories and there is less demand," Mr Butler added.

However, this could be a positive development for seekers of commercial mortgages as it may mean that prices are pushed down.

Recently, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors forecast that commercial property capital values could fall by 25 per cent over the next two years.

It predicted a drop of at least 16 per cent in capital values in 2009.