The global economic crisis has taken its toll on real-estate deals in practically every market. Here is a scorecard of how some of them fared this year.

Irish Economy 2009: While South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who had been nicknamed the “bulldozer,” had transmuted into a political blancmange within months of taking office, Ireland’s Brian Cowen, whose bulldozing style had won the acclaim of journalists, who should have known better, has had even a worst fate. Barring a remarkable transformation, in the brutal year ahead, Cowen is destined to copper-fasten his reputation as the most inept Irish leader in modern times. In the absence of significant reform in response to the economic crisis, there will be new dawns proclaimed to soften public anger. However, we set out some benchmarks below to sift substance from spin and spoof.

REITs have suffered their worst year on record, with a key index down 40%. Industry experts see a rebound in ‘09.

Los Angeles’s newest luxury hotels are showing signs of strain as room occupancy rates fall.

Liberty’s move to convert some bonds to shares has helped the U.K. property company retire some debt.

If you thought shopping malls were a nightmare in the run-up to the holidays, just try owning one now that there is nothing left to do but take down the tinsel.

The US Conference Board Consumer
Confidence Index, which had increased moderately in November,
declined to a new all-time low in December - - the lowest level
since records began in 1967. The Index now stands at 38.0
(1985=100), down from 44.7 in November. The Present Situation Index
plummeted to 29.4 from 42.3 last month. The Expectations Index
decreased to 43.8 from 46.2 in November.

S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices: Data through October 2008, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, shows continued broad based declines in the prices of existing single family homes across the United States, with 14 of the 20 metro areas showing record rates of annual decline and 14 now reporting declines in excess of 10% versus October 2007. Phoenix reports an annual drop of 32.7%, followed by Las Vegas, down 31.7%, and San Francisco down 31.0%.

The IMF (International Monetary Fund) said on Monday that tax cuts in response to global slowdown should favour spenders not savers and it called for big spending measures.

Dublin’s Grafton Street has overtaken London and
Tokyo to take a top 5 position in the ranking of the world’s most expensive
shopping streets.