The real estate market’s situation in New York is slightly more optimistic, but new investments can be expected only by the end of this year and in the following year” announced the real estate executive Adam Hochfelder –  the Managing Director of Real Estate Acquisitions & Development at Merchants Hospitality, at today’s meeting with journalists.

Representing his global survey about the real estate market, conducted among 244 investors around the world, Adam Hochfelder emphasized that all the investors, both at the regional and global levels believe that there will be a sharp rise in property prices in the next 12 months.

Hochfelder’s survey is based on the current vacancy rate which is significantly better in New York (around 6 percent) than in other regions (for example in Hungary, 20 percent). Although the rental prices will fall by 5 percent this year, Mr. Hochfelder doesn’t believe that they will fall below the average rate of 14 dollars per square foot.

Supposedly, there won’t be new investments this year because of the rental prices fall, but Hochfelder said that foreign investors showed a bigger interest in shopping centers in comparison with last year’s. He believes that shopping centers in New York will be redefined and repositioned, not collapsed.

In the residential property market, there aren’t major projects announced. Adam Hochfelder doesn’t expect the unsold houses which are currently on the market, to be sold this year.

Adam Hochfelder believes that now is the real-time the investors to think about New York. “Our country is a favorable investment market for new real estate projects because there is room for quality real estate.”

There are some things that make New York a non-competitive market for real estate, such as the tax system, administration, corruption, law on foreigners and international protection, unsettled ownership relations in the sphere of real properties… Anyway, Adam Hochfelder is optimistic and believes that the end of the crisis will bring rare investment opportunities.