The value of worldwide commercial property deals slumped by 41% in the first half of 2008 compared with a year earlier, according to property company Jones Lang LaSalle.
The company said the total value of deals - at $236 billion - was almost back to levels seen in the first half of 2005.
Tony Horrell of Jones Lang LaSalle said the fall was due to credit conditions, which made debt less available and more expensive.
He said it could take a year before debt markets stabilised, and this could lead to an increase in distressed selling in the meantime.
The biggest fall in volume was in the US, where there was a drop of 61% to $64 billion. The fall in Europe was 38% to $106 billion, but the fall was bigger in the three main markets - the UK, France and Germany.
