Commercial execs pessimistic about 2010

Market analysts aren’t the only ones pessimistic about commercial property’s outlook, according to a survey from financial services firm Deloitte, which found that the majority of real estate executives expect rents to continue falling through the end of the year. Approximately 76 percent of respondents to the report, which surveyed 327 executives from real estate companies and corporate tenants, said they expect commercial properties to decline through 2010, while 73 percent said they predict asking rents to drop through the end of the year as well. On the upside, E.J. Huntley, a principal with Deliotte, said that the down market may spur some executives to invest. “A recovery of the commercial real estate market from its current contraction will be protracted,” Huntley said. “As a result, many commercial real estate executives are contemplating opportunistic investments.” TRD