Commercial real estate isn’t waiting for the next shoe to drop, because the crisis is already here, said Diana Olick on a recent CNBC panel. Participants discussed the driving forces behind the commercial fallout, including a lack of available credit, rising delinquencies and vacancies, and unemployment. Marisa Manley, president of Commercial Tenants Real Estate Representation, said there are many opportunities for tenants amid the gloomy numbers. Olick said the commercial real estate market is going to take at least two to three years to recover, since it is slower moving than residential real estate. [more]

Stabilizing home prices haven’t yet done much to help those who bought in areas that fell victim to the largest of the boom-and-bust waves, CNBC’s Diana Olick said. Many of these buyers — especially in Florida, Arizona, Nevada and California — purchased homes at peak prices and are now the furthest underwater on their mortgages. For those who can’t afford to keep making payments, or who don’t feel it’s worth it do so on a house whose value may never return, biding time before the bank moves to foreclose or simply walking away from the property is beginning to make sense. Olick said she is concerned that the emerging signs of stabilization in home prices may not be sustainable after the government stops artificially propping up the market with stimulus funding. If that’s true, a second dip in home prices could force underwater homeowners even deeper into debt. [CNBC]

In light of Capmark Financial Group’s announcement Sunday that it will be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, CNBC real estate analyst Diana Olick took a closer look at how the real estate lender’s turmoil will affect the market. Capmark’s major investors, such as Five Mile Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, will take a massive hit from the reorganization, one that Capmark CEO Jay Levine is none too pleased to have announced. “[It’s] an unfortunate but necessary response to recent unprecedented conditions in the financial and commercial real estate markets,” Levine said. [more]

The Obama administration hasn’t agreed to extend the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit, which expires Nov. 1, but is looking at other initiatives that will shore up the property market. One such initiative is a newly approved plan under which Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will guarantee bonds through state and local housing finance agencies. Support of some sort is likely needed, CNBC‘s Diana Olick said. The home builders confidence index slipped to 18 in September, still above the low of 8 in January, but well below the 50 reading needed to suggest real growth. About 355,000 home sales this year have been attributed to the homebuyer tax credit, according to the administration. [more]

Increased affordability in the housing market, more home foreclosures, and the first-time homebuyer tax credit could be to blame for the rising vacancy rate in rental homes across the country, according to CNBC’s Diana Olick. The third quarter this year saw a 7.8 percent vacancy rate in U.S. apartments, the highest level seen since 1986, according to research group Reis. [more]

Amid the housing downturn, reverse mortgages for seniors are becoming increasingly popular. But these mortgages have high fees and require tapping into the mortgage holder’s home equity, which is not recommended for homeowners with any other alternatives, Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Timiraos told CNBC. Also, since home prices are falling, it is likely that home equity amounts are less than reverse mortgage amounts. According to the Federal Housing Administration, therefore, a homeowner would have to have no mortgage at all or a very small mortgage to be eligible for a reverse mortgage. The mortgages already have consumer protection, but John Dugan, controller of the currency, wants reverse mortgages to be more heavily regulated to make the process safer, according to CNBC’s Diana Olick. [more]

First time home buyers, investors, and organized property flippers currently make up the majority of those active in the housing market. However, Pete Flint, CEO of Trulia.com, tells CNBC that first-time buyers should be cautious in purchasing foreclosed homes and should work with foreclosure experts. Instead of foreclosing, Howard Glaser, president of the Glaser Group, recommends short sales and loan modifications. He believes the Obama administration’s loan modification measures will stabilize the economy, credit and housing inventory. But CNBC’s Diana Olick expressed skepticism about turning to short sales in lieu of foreclosures because short sales are now beginning to take as long as foreclosures. [more]

CNBC’s Diana Olick said that the pending home sales index is subject to greater volatility than the existing home sales number because mortgage processing time has increased and more contracts are falling through due to the tightening lending market. Pending home sales rose 6.7 percent in April for the third straight month, and the northeast was the region to see the highest increase, with a 32 percent jump. However, Olick said it is important to note that these numbers are based on contracts signed, not closings. And first-time home buyers looking to benefit from favorable market conditions may find some trouble as mortgage rates have slightly ticked up. [more]