* Santander hires CB Richard Ellis to manage deal * Process at initial stage; no timeframe for completion
* Santander shares underperform European peers
(Adds comments from Santander, background, share price)
MADRID, April 14 (Reuters) - Santander has hired a broker to manage the sale of real estate from its Banif Inmobiliario property fund, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday, after the fund was unable to repay investors.
Banif has hired CB Richard Ellis, the world's largest property broker, said a spokeswoman for Santander Real Estate, which manages the fund.
Santander, the euro-zone's biggest bank by assets, said in February that its Banif fund lacked sufficient liquidity to pay redemptions after nearly all the investors demanded their money back to the tune of 3 billion euros ($4.03 billion).
A decade-long Spanish property boom has come to an abrupt halt, paralysed by falling property values and a credit freeze for buyers.
"The sale process is at a very initial stage," the spokeswoman said on Tuesday, declining to confirm a report in newspaper Expansion that the operation could take at least two years to complete.
"It depends on market conditions. Our aim is to sell the assets gradually, with the aim of obtaining the best price in the shortest timeframe," the spokeswoman said.
At 1335 GMT, Santander's shares were up 1.7 percent at 6.59 euros, underperforming a 5.3 percent rise in the DJ Stoxx European banking index.
Analysts said the news, although not expected to have a major impact on Santander's accounts, was taking some shine off the shares on a day when other European banks were back in favour.
Last month, the Spanish stock market regulator agreed to a request from Santander to allow Banif to freeze payments to clients for two years.
Expansion said Santander decided to hire CB Richard Ellis to manage the operation to avoid the risk of Banif Inmobiliara's clients accusing the bank of a conflict of interest.
Santander is already in the process of selling off property assets which it has acquired from real estate developers over recent months. (Reporting by Judy MacInnes; Editing by Erica Billingham) ($1=.7574 Euro)