High net worth investors have some serious long-term concerns about the real estate market. A new survey from CTBC Bank showed that high net worth investors are particularly concerned about rising interest rates and affordability issues. Of those surveyed, 75% were concerned about the negative impact of housing affordability and 60% showed concern about rising interest rates. Generational gaps in housing needs also topped the list, with 60% of respondents concerned. Overall, however, the respondents were refreshingly optimistic about the economic outlook with only 15% expressing less comfort making an investment decision today than they did five years ago. The survey also showed that 82% of investors interviewed felt comfortable making investment decisions in the current economic climate. To find out more about the survey results and what they say about the real estate investment environment ahead, we sat down with Noor Menai, President & CEO of CTBC Bank USA, for an interview.

GlobeSt.com: How did the results of the survey align with your expectations?

Noor Menai: Going in, we had two presumptions. One, we were watching the data—and the data seemed to support the results—that there is no let up in demand and the economy is chugging along. We were also being programmed by the commentary around us that the business cycle has a way of catching up, and we were going to be in [a recession] soon. From that aspect, the survey confirmed the data, which is always gratifying. The data never lies. Sentiment sometimes plays a part, but it has to be at a much larger scale for sentiment to affect the market. These are relatively well-informed investors, and they have multiple sources. Investors, especially overseas investors, don't rely on one source but on talking to trusted advisors, being in the neighborhood and being voracious consumers of information around absorption rates, latency of how long things are sitting on the market and supply. The common denominator here is smart intelligent investors.