Real estate investors optimistic

Real estate investors worldwide are convinced the market is at or near bottom and about to shoot up, according the Colliers International’s first survey of global investor sentiment. Investors from Asia, Canada, Latin America, and Western European say financing is increasingly available, while investors in the Middle East and Eastern Europe make the opposite observation. While there was considerable disagreement about what “normal” is, the majority of respondents say their respective markets will return to “normal” within 18 months. Globally, rents are anticipated to hit bottom this year – the first quarter of 2010 for the office sector was the most frequently offered response, followed by the second quarter of 2010 for industrial, and the third or fourth quarter of 2010 for retail.