Most investors do not believe that the real estate market will do well in 2008. In commercial property, the increase for the year 2007 was some 49 per cent. This amounted to around US $416.2 billion.
This year, experts believe that there will be a drop. That drop could be as large as 17 per cent.
Some buyers are still making their purchase with cash though. This will help in terms of those trying to avoid the troubled credit crunch that most lenders are pushing. As reported by the Dallas News, Chris Lowery, Cushman & Wakefield Inc, global head of capital markets said, "There remains no real shortage of equity capital, and many overseas investors are coming into the market to take advantage of buying opportunities offering long term value."
He also makes this comment, "if the debt markets recover, we can expect to see prime real estate perform well, particularly in the second half of this year."
As this news comes in, so does even more troubling news about the US economy, a key factor in any investment scenario. According to Bloomberg News, American consumers have dropped their confidence levels in the country. The low is the lowest since 1992. January's numbers were 78.4 per cent, while February's have dropped to 69.9 per cent.
