PricewaterhouseCoopers: Apartment Sector to Lead Rising Property Sales in 2010

As cap rates begin to stabilize, investors are showing more confidence in the commercial real estate market than at any point in the last two years, a new report from New York-based PricewaterhouseCoopers shows.

Although transactions are expected to be lower in 2010 than at the peak of the market, the report released today projects marked improvement over 2009, with the apartment sector leading the recovery effort.

Cap rates, which gauge expectations of property income and value, not only show signs of leveling off, they have even declined slightly in some markets for quality assets, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers' Korpacz Real Estate Investor Survey.

As cap rates become more attractive to investors, that trend is expected to help stabilize commercial property values. Survey participants project that over the next six months, overall cap rates will hold steady in 19 of the 30 markets surveyed. Last quarter, the survey projected stabilization in only two markets.