Commercial real estate executives remain upbeat about their prospects for 2016, though they do see some potential hurdles on the horizon, according to CIT Group's 2016 Commercial Real Estate Outlook survey.
Fifty-two percent of executives surveyed said they believe their market segment is strong or very strong, and 71% said adequate capital is available for investment.
And executives are ready to act: more than 60% said their posture is opportunistic. The top issues driving commercial real estate investment that they cited were interest rates, consumer confidence, U.S. tax rates, unemployment and the global economy.
But CIT's survey also found that the optimism came with conditions. Only 47% of executives said the market for commercial real estate was recovering. And 44% said certain segments were in danger of significant decline.
The report also demonstrated the influence of technology — and also its limits. Over half of the survey respondents said that advancements in CRE technology "are revolutionizing the industry," but just 11% said they are at the "leading edge" of implementation.
Similarly, the survey reflected the benefits of tax credits and other incentives from state and local governments, but only 34% of executives agreed that green tax credits and cash grants were influencing their design and CRE choices significantly.
