Further commercial sales, price declines expected

Experts have predicted that commercial real estate prices in the U.S. will continue to decline for at least another 12 to 18 months as more banks foreclose on properties and more lenders reveal substantial write-downs. Nationwide, office prices were down 11.2 percent in the second quarter from their peak in 2007, while prices were down 4 percent for retail space and 6.7 percent for warehouse distribution centers. And due to the plunge in available debt for major purchases, commercial real estate sales in the U.S. are expected to plunge 66 percent to an estimated $159 billion this year, from $467 billion in 2007.