Commercial Finance Specialists

Properties in the south-east are undervalued and will provide good returns in 2010, a real estate agent claims.

A major real estate agent has predicted that office space within the M25 will offer strong returns for property investment firms in 2010.

Head of research at Knight Frank Claire Higgins claims that while uncertainty about the economic situation post-general election remains, commercial development firms on the whole are positive about the state of the market.

The south-east will see the strongest growth through 2010, aided by the fact that predicted public sector job cuts will have minimal effect.

Uptake of commercial property in the area by public sector organisations was only six per cent in the last three years, Ms Higgins explained.

For property investment firms, Knight Frank believes that real estate in the south-east is still undervalued, with prices hovering around 40 per cent below their peak.

Ms Higgins concluded: "Knight Frank's forecast for 2010 is for a total return on South East offices of 9.1 per cent.

"But the enormous caveat to these forecasts is that our economic recovery is not derailed either by global events or, indeed, by our own government."

Rival firm CB Richard Ellis recently announced that the all property return for property investment firms fell by one per cent in April.

Posted by Hadji Singh.