Commercial real estate mood up

You can't dampen the optimism of commercial real estate owners and brokers for very long. After all, these are the schemers and dreamers who built Florida.

Despite the trauma of recent years, a couple hundred attendees spent a morning at a conference sponsored by the CCIM commercial real estate group in Fort Myers to talk about the market.

The mood was considerably more upbeat than it was in the last two years. Smiles and handshakes abounded and the sponsor booths were crowded.

Over and over, the word that kept popping up was “opportunity.”

With prices this low, owners and brokers of commercial real estate debated how long they'd have to hold until the good times return. When the economy eventually recovers, most agree that those who hold on will be the big winners.