Pros at Bentley Forbes Celebrate Positive News from Commercial Real Estate Sector

LOS ANGELES, CA, May 16, 2013

Though the past several years have been undeniably rocky for U.S. real estate markets, the Los Angeles-based investment and development firm Bentley Forbes believes that better times are on the horizon, particularly for commercial real estate. To validate its point, the company points to a recent U.S. real estate forecast, released by the Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young. The forecast suggests growing confidence in the commercial real estate sector's recovery. Bentley Forbes has released a new statement to the press, celebrating this optimistic report.

"We are very excited about the positive momentum underlying the commercial real estate industry," Bentley Forbes opines, in its press statement. "Investors are gravitating back to real estate, as evidenced by the significant amount of capital chasing deals and the healthy volume of properties available for sale."

Indeed, the ULI/E&Y forecast suggests that, in spite of continued discord in Congress, economists are predicting more positive days ahead for the nation's commercial real estate sector. Growth is anticipated in several key areas, among them the access to capital and investment sales activity. The forecast also anticipates improvements in some of the market fundamentals, among them rents and occupancies.

These optimistic projections are based on a broadly favorable and hopeful outlook on the U.S. economy. Steady gains in GDP, employment, and housing opportunities are all cited as causes for economic optimism.

The economists cited in the forecast make several specific projections. For example, they predict that the GDP will grow by roughly 2 percent in the coming year, by 3 percent next year, and by over 3 percent in 2015. Additionally, it is anticipated that job growth will continue, with roughly 2 million jobs expected to be added this year and another 2 million next year.

Though the general tenor of the forecast is optimistic, there are admissions of some looming difficulties. The upward trajectory is unlikely to be totally smooth, as higher payroll taxes and continued political uncertainties limit the strength of the recovery.

Even so, real estate recovery is highlighted as a primary cause for general economic optimism--including both commercial real estate's resurgence and the recovery of the single-family housing market.

Based in Los Angeles but active on a national scale, Bentley Forbes is a privately held real estate investment and development firm that focuses on the acquisition and management of various commercial and multi-family properties, ranging from retail space to office space to apartments.

ABOUT:

Bentley Forbes is a nationally-recognized, privately held real estate investment and development company, focusing on the acquisition and operation of commercial and multi-family residential developments across a spectrum of property types and regional markets. For more than 20 years, the members of the Bentley Forbes management team have proven themselves as active developers, acquirers and managers; their interests encompass multi family residential, Class A office, hotel, industrial/warehouse, and retail properties. Bentley Forbes is in a prime position to take advantage of real estate investment and development opportunities in the numerous regional markets around the country.