WORLD PROPERTY CHANNEL ®

(NEW YORK, NY) -- The third-quarter survey  released today by New York-based Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors finds investors' fears on global commercial real estate markets are easing but not gone all together.

Here is what 430 member international real estate organizations told the group:

• Office, retail and industrial markets appear to be improving

• In the U.S., only 24% of respondents expect investors to hold off closing deals compared to 43% who felt that way in the second quarter

• In Brazil, Chile, Columbia and Peru, occupier demand is gradually strengthening for most space categories

• In the U.S. and Canada, however, tenant demand was expected to remain weak in the fourth quarter

• In China, India and especially Hong Kong, investors appear to be more confident than North Americans that the markets are improving

Stephen Crosson

"Brokers report little or no improvement in commercial real estate in general," says Stephen Crosson, MRICS, Senior Partner of the Dallas, TX  advisory firm, Crosson Dannis Inc. "There are many investors ready to purchase, albeit at significantly lower values than sellers are willing to accept."

"General economic indices look slightly more positive and confidence is guardedly returning, but tempered by concerns of rising short-term unemployment and long-term inflationary fears," says Steve Williams, FRICS, Global Advisor to Real Capital Analytics and founding partner of NY consultants, Williams-Murdoch.

 

Steve Williams

"While recovery theorists abound, the market has yet to confirm the veracity or resilience of the market's green-shoots," Williams adds.

"The rebound in Asian economies is clearly being reflected in the more positive responses to both rental and capital value expectations throughout the region. By way of contrast, the relatively sluggish economic revival through much of the U.S. is consistent with the more downbeat results for this region," notes RICS Chief Economist, Simon Rubinsohn.

Simon Rubinsohn

"This contrast could become even more pronounced through 2010 as any unwinding of the monetary and fiscal stimulus presents a further challenge to the tentative recoveries being experienced in most western economies."

The third-quarter survey was conducted between Sept. 1, 2009 and Sept. 10, 2009.

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