Manhattan, Miami among cities with highest dollar amounts of distressed CRE properties

From left: New York City and Miami skylines

Distressed commercial real estate properties nationwide now total a record $180 billion, a new report by real estate research firm Real Capital Analytics reveals. As of November, Las Vegas was by far the worst off, according to the report, with $17.7 billion worth of properties that could be classified as distressed, which includes those in default, or that are delinquent, bankrupt or foreclosed upon. Manhattan ranked second on the firm’s list of highest dollar value in distressed assets: $12.3 billion. Miami trailed with $7.6 billion. Nationwide, the retail sector had the greatest share of distressed properties, with $37.5 billion. Hotels fared second worst with $32 billion worth of properties in distress. Offices came in third at $28.2 billion and apartments fourth, at $27.9 billion. The industrial sector, which, according to Dan Fasulo, a managing director at RCA, was never over-leveraged in the way other property types were, is suffering least. Just $5 billion worth of industrial properties are classified as distressed, according to the firm. Fasulo said the trouble in commercial real estate began only after the Lehman Brothers collapse. “Before 2008 there was no material distress in commercial real estate — period. It was just a normal market. This isn’t something you can compare with other periods. This is new for everybody.”