Colliers Sees Good, 'Green' Year for CRE

The U.S. commercial real estate market will have another good year in 2007, and the adoption of "green" and "sustainable" practices will emerge as a key trend, according to Colliers International, a Boston-based global real estate services firm.Colliers predicted that the "vast majority" of office developments will be certified by the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design program. In addition, developers will move increasingly to mixed-use development that blends office, retail, residential, and hotel use, the company said. The industrial sector will be mixed as a result of a weak housing market and a production cutback by automakers, but rents are forecast to rise by 10% and construction by 15%. "Absorption, however, is not expected to keep pace," said Ross Moore, the organization's senior vice president and director of market and economic research. "This will leave the year-end 2007 vacancy rate up just a quarter of a percent -- coming in at approximately 8.5%. This will be the first increase since 2003." Colliers can be found online at http://www.colliers.com.