After a record breaking year for commercial property in the US last year, in which total sales passed the $500bn mark for the first time, real estate investors in 2008 have put the Champagne on ice.

“The frenzy that took place was unlike any I have ever seen,” says Frank Liantonio, head of capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield, referring to the real estate markets in the year a half before the credit squeeze kicked in.