Survey Finds Upbeat View of CRE

Nearly three quarters of commercial real estate professionals surveyed by the Bryan Cave law firm in New York say they expect CRE activity to strengthen or stay the same over the next 12 months, according to the law firm.Among that group, equal percentages (35.8%) said they expect CRE activity to strengthen or stay the same, while 26.9% said they expect it to weaken, according to the survey, which was conducted in April and May. Barry C. Ross, a real estate group co-leader with the firm, said the results reveal the respondents to be "optimistic about the coming year, notwithstanding the full price that better properties are commanding." They are concerned, however, about the effect of an increase in interest rates, he said. About half the respondents (51.5%) believe that U.S. commercial real estate is currently overvalued, while a mere 4.5% believe it to be undervalued. Multifamily properties are viewed as the investment property type of choice by 26.1% of the respondents.