Ireland and the US are set to see the biggest rise in distressed sales of commercial properties, says the latest RICS research.

Property professionals expect the number of distressed properties coming onto the marketplace in the second quarter of 2010 to increase across 19 of the 25 countries surveyed by RICS. Respondents in Ireland and the US expect to see the fastest growth in activity followed by Scandinavia, New Zealand and Hungary. The UK has also seen deterioration in sentiment with the net balance of those expecting distressed sales to rise moving from 14% to 42%. However, there is positive news from Hong Kong, Australia, China and India where agents expect distressed sales to decline.

In the first quarter, 17 out of the 25 countries surveyed reported an increase in distressed sales, a marginal improvement on the 18 countries reporting three months earlier. The largest growth in distressed sales was reported in the US, followed by the Republic of Ireland and the UAE. However, the pace of increase moderated across the majority of markets with the UAE a notable exception.

RICS members work on both sides of any distressed property transaction. Consequently, the survey asked surveyors whether the level of interest from specialist funds in distressed properties was increasing. Levels of interest rose across 20 out of 25 countries down from 21 in the previous quarter.

Commenting on their research, Oliver Gilmartin, RICS senior economist said: “The issue of distressed property assets has not yet gone away despite a modest recovery in values across most global property markets in the past 6-12 months. Indeed, this is the thunderous cloud which overhangs the market despite some glimmers of light having shone through in the past year as risk appetite has improved.

The results suggest that banks may be starting to manage down their property loan books particularly in parts of Western Europe. Clearly, Ireland and the UAE stand out as markets where this process is expected to accelerate in the coming months.