A reckoning for commercial property values could wreak havoc for the large institutional owners of CBD office towers if suggested price falls of between 10 and 20 per cent materialise in the next several months. This is despite valuations, on paper, barely budging.

Property values came under renewed attention earlier this year after banking crises in the US and Europe turned the spotlight on the issue of the losses crystallised when long-dated assets – such as bonds or real estate – are valued at their current market level.