The volume of transactions in 2007 was a 4% increase over thevolume in 2006, which was approximately $360 billion. While 2008figures are expected to be below 2006 and 2007 numbers, 2008 volumeis still expected to be more than the average annual volumes of2002 through 2006, which ranged from $215 billion to $220 billion,says Noble Carpenter, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle'sCapital Markets Group. The volume will seem "sluggish" but "it isstill a very healthy transaction pace," he says.

The decrease in transaction volume for 2008 is due to "primarilythe credit crunch and the uncertainty around the economy,"Carpenter says. "We think there will be a lot of caution in themarket."

Additionally, there will not be as much financing available asthere had been in previous years, he adds. There are currently morethan $50 billion in five-year, full-term, interest-only loans."They will be very difficult properties to refinance because theunderwriting done at the time was very aggressive," he says.