Commercial property recovery ‘not guaranteed’

Posted 09/02/2010

Commercial property investors have been reminded that the medium-term recovery of the sector is not a certainty, despite recent encouraging indicators.

Financial services firm F&C Investments stated that it is “cautiously optimistic” about the market’s growth, but is also prepared for a possible downturn.

These forecasts come in response to a survey conducted by the firm which revealed that investors are split almost evenly on the issue of whether the prospects for the commercial property sector are favourable or not.

This is despite recent research from CB Richard Ellis showing that capital values in the sector grew by 0.9 per cent in January.

Mike Woodward, head of investment trusts at F&C, said this is understandable due to professional experience of the unsustainable values seen in 2007 prior to the credit crunch.

He added: “The recent recovery in commercial property has been greeted by some as a return to normality, but others understandably fear that the easy money has been made.”