CHICAGO-Uncertainty about the economy, combined with sluggish job growth and the upcoming general election have made investors wary about where to park their monies. According to locally based Reach Estate Research Corp.'s Q2 2012 Real Estate Report entitled "Challenges Mount, Flight to Safety," institutional investors consider some types of commercial real estate to be a safer place to park money than even cash, though CRE confidence did decline slightly from the previous quarter.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 representing the most confidence among those surveyed), investors rated commercial real estate at 6.8, which was down slightly from 6.9 at the beginning of 2012. Other investment types such as stocks were rated at 5.2; bonds were rated at 3.5 and cash at 3.9. Furthermore, while current availability of capital was ranked at 7.1 (a slight increase from the previous quarter), capital discipline was at 6.4 (a slight decrease from the previous quarter).

In surveying institutional investors, RERC found that respondents expect the U.S. economy to weaken over the next year. There is good reason for this concern, with GDP growth increasing only 1.5% during Q2 2012, representing a slowdown from the previous quarter. Additionally, the respondents expressed concern about how the upcoming fiscal cliff with sequestered tax increases and funding cuts, coupled with slowing growth in Europe, will impact the U.S. economy. Not helping the situation is the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee's assertion that things aren't going to get a whole lot better in the near- to mid-term.