Last year was a boom time for real estate investment.

But don't look for a repeat in 2008, analysts say.

North American commercial property purchases jumped 49 percent in 2007 to $416.2 billion, according to a new report by Cushman & Wakefield Inc.

That compares with an estimated worldwide total of $930 billion – a record.

But forecasters are calling for a 17 percent drop this year because of problems in the credit markets.

While debt is an issue, there are still buyers with cash.

"There remains no real shortage of equity capital, and many overseas investors are coming into the market to take advantage of buying opportunities offering long-term value," Chris Lowery, C&W's global head of capital markets, said in the new report.

He goes on to predict that "if the debt markets recover, we can expect to see prime real estate perform well, particularly in the second half of this year."

As nationwide commercial property buys soared in 2007, the Dallas market was already cooling.

"The investment sales market is likely to finish at $2.8 billion in 2007, compared to the all-time record of $3.6 billion recorded in 2006," said Steve Harriss, assistant director of research services in C&W's Dallas office. "Liquidity in the debt market diminished in 2007 due to the subprime turbulence.

"Investment sales slowed during the second half of 2007, with many sellers looking towards the first quarter of 2008 to begin marketing their properties."

Another major corporation has traded in a suburban location for new digs in downtown Dallas.

Weber Shandwick – the global public relations firm – has shifted its regional office from Irving to the Comerica Tower at 1717 Main St.

About 90 workers are now located on the 16th floor of the skyscraper.

Weber Shandwick was previously at 6555 Sierra Drive in Irving, along with its sister firm TM Advertising, which also made the move downtown.

A Los Angeles-based real estate company that touts socially responsible investment has made a buy in Dallas.

Learning Links Centers has purchased a 71-unit apartment complex at 14000 Maham Road.

The company plans to make improvements to the rental community and set up teaching programs to benefit the tenants.

Learning Links acquires, refurbishes and manages apartment buildings in targeted neighborhoods, and then sets aside a percentage of the units for schoolteachers.

In exchange for a break in rents, the teachers agree to tutor children who live in the complexes. The landlord also remodels an apartment in each property for educational purposes.

"Our program has been tremendously successful in Los Angeles and when we researched other opportunities, we felt Dallas was among the top areas that offered a promising investment potential," one of the company's founders company, Joe Killinger, said in a statement.

The investors – who own five buildings in California – plan to make more buys in the area.