The reckoning is finally on the horizon
-Richard Green

Commercial real estate (CRE) experts know that their market will be in shambles for months (if not years) to come. However, a recent survey reveals that many industry professionals believe that the market will hit bottom in 2010:

Real estate industry leaders who are meeting at the Urban Land Institute’s annual gathering in San Francisco are more optimistic than they were at this time last year because they can see the reckoning finally on the horizon, said Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.

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Towards the end of 2008, the meltdown in the financial and mortgage markets led to a credit crisis that froze lending nationwide. For a while now analysts have been forecasting another looming credit crisis — this time it has to do with the commercial real estate market. Finance and economic blogger Calculated Risk predicted declines back in December 2008.

However, what makes this “latest” threat to U.S. lending institutions particularly dangerous, is that several Federal entities — from the Federal Reserve, to the Treasury, to the FDIC — are financially stretched to their limits, and may be unable or unwilling to provide adequate support to lenders if or when the time arises.

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