Global investment in commercial property is forecast to fall 17 per cent this year as the continuing financing crisis in the sector drags the market from record levels last year.

The tail end of a spectacular bull run for commercial property before the summer helped to take investment to an all-time high of $930bn (€630bn, £468bn) in 2007, an increase of 29 per cent on 2006, according to research from Cushman & Wakefield, the global property agent.