"Obviously the volatile markets of the last year have created great concern for those seeking capital, and the decline in development is the consequence," says Douglas Howe, NAIOP chairman and president of Touchstone Corp. in Seattle. "While the overall consensus of this survey is somber, there's hope that most indicators will at least stabilize in 2010."

Still, though, the credit crisis remains a huge factor for most respondents. In 2008, only 28% felt that borrowing was getting better. In 2009, that number remained basically the same at 29%. In 2009, 64% of respondents felt that borrowing money was the same or somewhat easier than a year ago. Confidence improved for 2010, with 80% of this year's respondents indicating that borrowing money will remain difficult or become somewhat more available, mainly coming from banks, private investors and insurance companies.Overall investment activity is down 90% compared to a year ago. Besides the constraints in the capital markets, the continued gap of seller and purchaser expectations remains a challenge, the survey found. The most active office product being transacted remains prime, stabilized assets with credit tenants where there is some competition among buyers.

Other findings from the report:

• The majority of respondents felt that industrial rents declined in 2009; in 2010, almost 32% of respondents feel that rents will improve as industrial availability rates start leveling off;
• Most respondents expect rents to level off in 2010 with a few markets expecting a slight increase. Office vacancy rates are expected to continue to increase in 2010 and level off by the end of the year.