Survey: Investors Will Buy Apartments in 2009

CHICAGO-It’s somewhat of surprise, though maybe not with every other commercial real estate market stagnant or going south, that most investors who answered the recent Jones Lang LaSalle 2009 Multifamily Forecast Survey said they plan to buy, buy, buy in the property category in the coming year. The results of the survey were unveiled at the RealShare Apartments 2008 conference by the locally-based JLL.

Almost 70% of respondents to the survey said they plan to increase their multifamily investment in 2009, while only 6% said they would decrease allocations. “I think it shows that though many in the market are reacting to psychological factors, they’re not afraid of apartments,” says Jeff Morris, a JLL managing director. “They believe value is going to be there in the future. I think that’s an optimistic sign for the market.”

More than 200 investors across the country answered the survey during the past three weeks, Morris says. He agrees that the apartment market, buoyed by foreclosures and hard-to-get home loans, has seen higher demand as of late. “But still, the national economy is shedding jobs, and jobs and apartment demand are fairly linked, so demand isn’t as high as it could be. However, the investors could choose to remain on the sidelines, but they instead choose to participate.”