The 2014 Global Investor Sentiment Survey conducted by Colliers International, a leading commercial real estate company, revealed that the United States is considered the most desirable investment destination by global investors in 2014, the same as last year. The survey also found that US investors are the most ambitious in the international market. The surveyors collected responses from 522 most active investors in the U.S., Canada, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East and 62% of all investors opined that the U.S. investment volume will increase 1%-10% in 2014 compared to that of 2013 and only 4% responded it will fall by 1%-10%. Overall, Colliers 2014 Global Survey predicts U.S. real estate business to prosper in 2014.
The key findings of this survey that support the growth of property sales in the U.S. are as follows.
- 92% of US investors surveyed are expecting to increase the level of investment in their property portfolios while only 8% expect to reduce their property portfolios. In addition to that, 85% of all investors including the non-US investors anticipate property investment conditions to either improve or stay the same in the U.S. while only 6% expect the conditions will decline.
- The survey found risk tolerance had grown higher among US investors. Half of the US investors surveyed responded they are ‘high likely’ or ‘likely’ to take more risk in 2014 while the other half respondents indicated they are ‘unlikely’ to take more risk. However, no investors responded they were ‘not at all likely’ to take more risk.
- 77% of US investors surveyed are anticipating their primary investment focus in 2014 will be in the U.S., while 44% of non-US investors consider U.S. as their primary investment focus in 2014.
The on-shoring of manufacturing to the U.S. and the burgeoning job opportunities in the metropolitan areas have boosted the confidence level of investors. Supply-side constraints are also enhancing the appeal of US real estate investment as per the global investor sentiment report. The most important factors that affect investment decisions among US investors include property fundamentals, economic growth of the region, ease of entry/exit and yield, while least important factors include currency risk, level of distress, taxation and availability of local JV partners. Political risk is of lowest concern among the investors.
Growing Need for Documentation of Real Estate Records
As the U.S. real estate is expected to flourish in 2014, there will be a higher number of real estate transactions including purchases, sales and leases. These transactions are governed by state and federal law and the requirements established by the law may differ from state to state. To avoid legal disputes, it is very important to document the details during a transaction in an accurate and legal manner. Real estate attorneys often help individuals and commercial clients to deal with these transactions and draft various documents including offer contracts, lease contracts, purchase contracts, contractor agreements, residential closings and more. Transcribing such documents may become hectic for them as the transactions increase in which case they can choose to go for professional documentation of real estate records.
With the increasing property sales and purchases, the need for on-site inspections will increase for purposes such as confirming the correct boundary lines and avoiding disputes with neighbors, which may cause legal problems to both sellers and buyers in future. One may need to transcribe audio recordings of interviews during inspections to prepare accurate survey reports that describe the property in detail. As the workload increases, the surveyor can seek support from trained transcriptionists to maintain accuracy and deliver the required reports within the deadline.
