Experts Predict Market Will Slide Until 2010

A panel of commercial real estate scholars and professionals recently gathered at the eighth annual Trigild Lender Conference to discuss the condition of the current commercial real estate market. Experts warned the nation that because of the continued credit crunch and the residential housing slump, the market will probably not rebound until the first quarter of 2010.

Sam Chandan, Ph.D., chief economist and senior vice president of research for Reis Inc., a New York City-based real estate analysis and information firm, concluded the meeting by offering a final assessment: “Commercial real estate debt is at an historic high. There is just no strategy for these bad loans, and no way to address the rising tide of delinquencies and defaults. Commercial transactions will be muted through the end of the year and pricing will fall farther, as over-leveraged borrowers sell assets under duress.”

Source: Trigild