Unrealistic Expectations on Value Is Central Factor Driving Market NEW YORK, June 17
NEW YORK, June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Real estate professionals polled from
around the country have expressed concern that property in the United States
is overvalued.
According to the fifth annual Bryan Cave Real Estate Executives' Forecast
Survey, 59 percent of the executives polled believe commercial properties are
overvalued and only 4 percent consider commercial properties to be
undervalued.
"The results of Bryan Cave's survey are further evidence some owners are
focused on peak values of a year ago," said Jon Caplan, executive vice
president of Cushman & Wakefield, a national real estate firm. "Overall, the
market is awaiting more information regarding valuation. There are few recent
data points. Debt is scarce, and it is not clear what the game rules will be
for lending going forward. We are in a transition and transaction volume will
pick up as we get more clarity."
Barry Ross, a partner at Bryan Cave, seconded Caplan's view and added that
"91 percent of the executives polled by our survey believe the credit crunch
will continue to reduce capital for commercial real estate financings for at
least seven more months. The expectation among executives can only add to the
market's woes and slow activity in the short term."
Other important findings include:
- A majority of the respondents (61 percent) felt that the 15 percent
capital gains tax rate on the sale of real estate will rise if the
Democrats win the White House this year. No one expects the rate to go
up if John McCain wins the White House, and 18 percent said the rate
will stay the same regardless of who wins the presidential election.
-- Real estate professionals throughout the U.S. have indicated the place
to invest is the Northeast and the most attractive asset class for
investment is metropolitan office buildings.
-- Survey results showed a steady and continuing interest in international
real estate investment exists. More than 50 percent of the respondents
indicated it was highly likely or somewhat likely that they will invest
outside of the U.S. this year.
About the Bryan Cave Real Estate Executives' Forecast Survey
The fifth annual Bryan Cave Real Estate Executives' Forecast Survey was
conducted among 323 real estate professionals, including brokers, lenders,
commercial mortgage bankers, title insurers, contractors, investors and
engineers, at a variety of public and private real estate companies, real
estate services, commercial banks, opportunity and investment funds,
investment banks and law firms.
This survey, conducted by Opinauri between March 11 and April 14, is based
on voluntary, opt-in online interviews generated by an e-mail invitation from
Bryan Cave. The survey was designed, supervised and analyzed by The Marketing
Workshop in Norcross, Ga.
This survey sample size (N=323) has a margin of error of +/- 5.3 percent
at the 95 percent confidence level.
About Bryan Cave LLP
Bryan Cave LLP has a diversified international legal practice. The firm
represents a wide variety of business, financial, institutional and individual
clients, including publicly held multinational corporations, large and
mid-sized privately held companies, partnerships and emerging companies.
Subsidiaries Bryan Cave International Trade and Bryan Cave Strategies LLC
provide trade and customs consultancy and government relations and strategic
counsel, respectively. Aided by extensive investments in technology, Bryan
Cave's more than 1,000 lawyers and other consulting professionals in 22
offices across the United States, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, the
Middle East and Asia efficiently serve clients' needs in the world's leading
business and financial markets.
SOURCE Bryan Cave LLP
