German real estate professionals are gloomier than ever in the wake of the increased turbulence in the international financial markets. King Sturge's Real Estate Climate index, which polls 1,000 market participants every month, returned the steepest loss ever in the history of the index in October. The Real Estate Climate index stands at 55.4 index points, undercutting September's rating of 69.7 points by 20.5%.

German real estate professionals are gloomier than ever in the wake of the increased turbulence in the international financial markets. King Sturge's Real Estate Climate index, which polls 1,000 market participants every month, returned the steepest loss ever in the history of the index in October. The Real Estate Climate index stands at 55.4 index points, undercutting September's rating of 69.7 points by 20.5%.

Additionally, the Real Estate Economy index - based on hard macroeconomic data - dropped from 157.1 index points in September to 150.7 points in what King Sturge described as the 'unchecked continuation of the downward trend that started in early 2007'.

'Here, a downward spiral has been set into motion that will most likely keep us on the edge of our seats for some time to come,' said Sascha Hettrich, managing partner of King Sturge Deutschland. 'The fact impacts the real estate sector, too, though it remains to be seen what will happen next in the investment sector, now that some of Germany’s open-ended funds have closed. The user side, by contrast, is still relatively intact.'