Find the Bottom

Commercial real estate is finally feeling the pain. Sharply.

Rental vacancies are on the rise across the region, foreclosures and short sales are up, lease rates are dropping and declining sale prices are starting to make commercial look more like the residential market of the past few years.

The quick change has pushed property experts into one of two generally pessimistic camps: those who think the market has more to fall and those who think it is nearing bottom. For more hopeful news, most observers say you have to look to the end of 2010 or beyond.