Survey: CRE Execs See Cooling Market

Most executives in the commercial real estate industry expect the booming market to cool off next year, according to a survey by DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP, an international law firm.The firm said 70% of the 258 top CRE executives who responded to the survey expect the market to flatten out in 2006, while 27% say they expect a continued boom. Few foresee a crunch. "It is both surprising and encouraging that only 3% of industry executives surveyed expect a market downturn in the next 12 months," said Jay Epstien, chair of DLA Piper's U.S. real estate practice. "At the same time, however, the survey yielded a nearly equal amount of bulls and bears, so a feeling of 'cautious optimism' fueled by continued confidence in the strength of the U.S. economy is clearly the common thread among senior real estate executives." The survey results were released in conjunction with the firm's 2005 Global Real Estate Summit in Chicago. DLA Piper can be found online at http://www.dlapiper.com.