Allan Saunderson is managing editor of Property Finance Europe and a contributor to GlobeSt.com.

ESSEN, GERMANY-Shares in GAGFAH, Germany's largest listed housing company controlled by US private equity group Fortress Investment, have been heavily traded in recent weeks, with various media reporting that 12.5 million in stock – around 5.5% of the outstanding capital - was recently sold by Goldman Sachs for an unnamed institution at a price of €5.50 per share.

A GAGFAH spokesman said the group had no notification of any change in voting rights despite the size of the transaction. The share was last trading around €6. The reports said Fortress, which cut its stake at the end of March to 60% of equity from a prior 70%, was not the seller of the latest packet. The second largest shareholder is Highbridge Capital, a unit of JP Morgan, which most recently reporting holding 5.24%. The investment bank Morgan Stanley has downgrade the stock to Underweight, with a target price of €2.90.

For the first half of the year GAGFAH last week reported a significant depreciation in valuation, marking the portfolio down by just over €600 million for its nearly 170,000 German housing units to €9.1 billion from €9.8 billion at end-December and €10.1 billion in June 2008. However, the latest depreciation came after a reduction of nearly 5,000 units in 1H09, of which 1,116 were privatised to tenants or third parties. GAGFAH said its net asset value is €13.17 per share and gross asset value is €855 per square meter. on the 10.2 million square meters. residential space it now owns.