NYC commercial property overvalued, real estate execs say

Most New York City real estate executives say Manhattan commercial properties are overvalued, according to a survey from accounting firm Marks Paneth & Shron cited by Real Estate Weekly.

The 100 executives in the anonymous survey, who were polled in June and July, compared the buildings’ value with that of other major global cities. While 54 percent believed it was valued too high in the city, about 28 percent said it was fairly valued.

In the survey from last winter, a similar majority described the real estate as overvalued.

Thirty-two percent of those polled expected Manhattan office and other commercial leasing prices would not return to 2007 levels until at least 2016 — if not later or never. Meanwhile, 15 percent believed prices had already reached those levels. Twelve percent felt it would happen next year, the report said.

“The view that Manhattan commercial property is overvalued dovetails with perceptions about office leasing prices: Most real estate executives who participated do not believe they’re getting back to pre-recession levels very quickly. It could be that there’s an underlying feeling that foreign investors are inflating values in Manhattan,” said William H. Jennings of Marks Paneth & Shron told the publication. [REW] – Mark Maurer