Real Estate Roundtable Survey Shows Stabilization

Of the 100-plus senior real estate executives participating in thesurvey, 82% characterized market conditions today as better than ayear ago--up from 73% in Q1--although only 17% said conditions are"much better." The "Current Conditions" index now stands at 74.

There is talk that the commercial real estate market may have finallyreached bottom, Jeff DeBoer, head of the Roundtable, said in a prepared statement. "But while sentiment is up, that's not to say things are good. Refinancingremains difficult for many, and defaults are still rising, which meansmore pain ahead," he said. DeBoer was unable to speak with GlobeSt.com in time for publication.

Another sign that the industry is leveling off, according to thesurvey: only 28% of those polled perceived asset prices today as lowerthan they were a year ago, compared with 57% in the previous quarter.

Other findings from the survey:

• 56% expect valuations to be "somewhat higher" a year from now and 35%expect them to remain "about the same," compared to 42% and 35%,respectively, in the previous survey.

• Meanwhile, the percentage who expect values to be "somewhat lower" ina year dropped from 19% last quarter to 6% in the latest survey.

• Of the 65% that said debt capital is more available today than oneyear ago, 27% characterized availability as "much better." Bycontrast, only 19% of Q1 survey participants felt conditions were"much better" than one year earlier.

• As for equity side, 76% said availability is better than one year ago(with 26% characterizing it as "much better"). However, the number ofrespondents predicting conditions will be better "one year from today"declined from 75% in Q1 to 66% in Q2, with a corresponding increase inthe number who expect equity availability to remain "about the same."