"There will be a fundamental shift back to traditional real estate underwriting principles, including comprehensive cash flow analysis and prudent levels of debt and equity in consummating real estatetransactions," says Howard Roth, global and Americas real estate leader at E&Y, in a release. "This 'back to basics' movement will lead to the greater transparency necessary to restore confidence between buyers and sellers."

The E&Y report, which was produced in conjunction with strategy consultancy Oxford Analytica, notes that the credit crunch is entirely new to the list of business risks as identified from interviews with leadership of multinational real estate companies. Perhaps reflecting the topsy-turvy state of the market and global economy, the top 10 list is itself much changed from last year's.

Coming in second in E&Y's top 10 2009 list is "global economic and market fluctuations," which was ranked seventh in 2008. "Due to capital flows and business expansion, the real estate industry has become a truly global industry and, as such, is increasingly susceptible to global market fluctuations," according to a release.