WASHINGTON, DC—Two consecutive quarters of political turbulence and lack of regulatory change have eroded commercial real estate executives' optimism, but they remain essentially upbeat, according to the Real Estate Roundtable's Economic Sentiment Index for the third quarter. “In the face of geopolitical uncertainty, we continue to believe that the real estate industry will navigate headwinds and maintain a positive path forward,” says Jeffrey DeBoer, the Roundtable's president and CEO. “As our Q3 Index shows, our industry leaders continue to conduct business, asset values are stable, equity capital is widely available and debt funds have stepped in to fill the void for the lack of construction financing we have been experiencing over the past year.”

Overall, the index came in at 50, down two points from the Q2 index, although still in positive territory. The Current Conditions Index of 51 and the Future Conditions Index of 48 both represented two-point drops from the previous quarter.

Some of that decline in respondents' confidence reflects trepidation on the part of their tenants and/or clients. The Roundtable says that although most survey participants see market fundamentals as strong, they're seeing client hesitation about decision-making owing to uncertainty about market conditions and trepidation about the Trump administration.