Commercial Occupancy is high in Brazil, Canada, and Russia, but not so much in Spain, Greece, or France.

Commercial real estate landlords are doing well in Brazil, Canada, and Russia, but not so well in Spain, Greece, or France with leased properties. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, based in London, made this observation in the first quarter (RICS). villas in Doha

The majority of foreign investor inquiries in the January-March timeframe favored Canada, Brazil, the United States, Germany, and Bulgaria, according to RICS' latest Global Commercial Property Survey.

"The biggest area of concern remains Europe," says RICS Chief Economist Simon Rubinsohn, "with most of the continent either in or flirting with recession."

"However, Germany's resilience should provide a measure of support and eventually help bolster development elsewhere on the continent," he adds.

With the exception of Switzerland, Poland, Russia, and Germany, the majority of countries surveyed had negative capital value perceptions.

As predicted, the countries with the lowest growth confidence are those that have been especially hard hit by the sovereign debt crisis, such as Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy, according to Robinsohn.

Following some promising signs in the global economy and a lowering of tensions in the euro zone in the first months of the year, respondents in Russia, Canada, Brazil, and China say that occupier demand is "significantly outstripping new supply."

However, in Hong Kong and Thailand, rent standards have improved significantly. In addition, opinion has changed in the United States, Malaysia, and, most notably, India. The outlook for rentals had previously been pessimistic in all three nations, but this was replaced in the first quarter by a more upbeat collection of results.

In comparison, with the notable exceptions of Germany and Poland, the outlook for the occupier market remains pessimistic across most of the European Union.

In Germany, a healthy recovery in economic activity is fueling increased demand for space and pushing rents even higher. Poland follows two years of increasing demand, stable supply, and rising rents with an optimistic rental outlook (+13).

'Low growth expectations, if not concerns of outright recession, continue to weigh heavily on sentiment in the rest of the euro zone,' according to the study. "Importantly, the weak findings extend beyond the sovereign debt crises' most vulnerable economies (Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Ireland), with a worsening rental outlook in the Netherlands and France."

On the investment side, demand in these European markets, along with Italy and Hungary, is extremely low, and respondents in the Czech Republic and Belgium expect similar negative outcomes. Investment inquiries and capital value expectations are increasing in Germany, and the investment sector in Poland is stabilizing after two years of increases.

Brazil, Canada, and China are the countries with the most robust capital value forecasts. Brazil and Canada have particularly optimistic investment demand projections, but they are closely followed by the United States, India, and Russia.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is also showing signs of improving sentiment, with investment inquiries increasing in the first quarter after a long period of decline.