Survey: CRE Execs Turn Bearish

The previously bullish views of commercial real estate industry executives have turned bearish in the wake of the subprime mortgage shakeout and credit crunch, according to a survey by DLA Piper, an international law firm.The firm said only 31% of the 332 top commercial real estate executives who responded to the survey described their 12-month outlook for the U.S. CRE market as "bullish," down dramatically from 78% in April. "The spike in optimism we witnessed in April has certainly reversed course," said Jay Epstien, chair of DLA Piper's U.S. real estate practice. "The uncertainty created by the credit crunch has overshadowed otherwise strong fundamentals for the commercial real estate market and slowed the previous velocity of deals, though many transactions continue to move forward." DLA Piper can be found online at http://www.dlapiper.com.