Commercial bargains could emerge

The market collapse could drop commercial real estate values, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s Fall 2008 Cross-Sector Survey, completed by 100 planned attendees of last week’s Urban Land Institute conference here. Respondents included development firms, property owners, public agencies, financial institutions, professional services firms and consultants. According to Moody’s/REAL Index, commercial values have declined 12 percent from their peak in January 2007, and multiple speakers at the ULI fall meeting warned that room for further price declines remains. Jack Minter, managing director of investment sales at JLL, says 2009 will be a prime year for opportunistic investors hoping to procure distressed assets. When asked when they expect the debt markets to regain equilibrium, 62 percent of the survey’s respondents said it would take at least a year to reach stability.

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