Commercial property to see robust demand in 2011 first half: Survey

"... Despite the expectation that interest rate hikes will continue in the first half of 2011, the growth profile of commercial property remains quite robust on account of a strong manufacturing sector," an RICS India Commercial Property Survey released today said.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) acts as a self-regulatory body for qualifications and standards and has more than 1,50,000 property professionals as members.

According to the report, the sentiment in the investment market is seen to be stabilising after strong price gains in previous quarters and substantial increments are not expected.
Demand for commercial property continues to remain strong at the macroeconomic level.

However, the report noted that "growth in investment activity seems to be losing momentum for the first time since the market recovered from the crisis in 2007". There is a trend of oversupply rising across the three segments of office, industrial and retail property.
The findings are based on a recent survey of more than 400 people, who are into different areas of the commercial property sector.