The prices for office buildings are falling and falling, and the situation is increasingly reminiscent of the situation before the start of the global financial crisis in 2008. The International Monetary Fund is warning, the G-7 states are alarmed – and Finance Minister Lindner can only provide reassurance to a limited extent.
It’s the little things that bring back bad memories, such as the quietness with which the crash occurs or the cryptic letter abbreviations that suddenly start circulating. In 2008, at the beginning of the global financial crisis, it was previously little-known banking products such as subprime real estate loans and risky financial products such as CDO and CDS that suddenly plunged financial institutions around the world into dire straits. Today, an acronym is making the rounds again that has so far led a shadowy existence, but has put the finance ministers of the seven leading industrial nations (G7) on alert. It is CRE and stands for commercial real estate – or as it is more profanely called in German: commercial real estate.