Real estate services firm Grubb and Ellis recently released a report that showed the commercial real estate market will likely grow in 2012, but at a slow pace.
The report expects the multi-family housing sector to improve the most. Hospitality and industrial were considered second and third, while the office sector was projected to struggle the most. Regionally, the company's Momentum index showed the Pacific Northwest looks the strongest, followed by Southern California and the Mountain/Southwest region. The Southeast region registered the worst scores.
"Although a variety of economic and political factors, including continued high unemployment, an upcoming U.S. presidential election and the unresolved European sovereign debt crisis weigh on the minds of real estate owners, users and investors, we anticipate gradual improvement in leasing markets and a boost in investment sales volume," said Robert Bach, senior vice president, chief economist for Grubb and Ellis.
While commercial real estate growth may be slow, employment numbers recently showed a marked improvement. This could be important for the industry, as it may lead to an increase in office purchases.