Commercial Real Estate Faces Huge Challenges, while Some Positive Signs Emerge

The commercial real estate industry has come under severe pressure following the financial crisis, with Moody’s commercial real estate index down more than 40% since October 2007, for example. Falling values and rents, and rising vacancy rates are part of the reason some observers have forecast that up to $200 billion in losses could result from this bear market. To get some perspective on where markets stand today, Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Guy Langford, head of the national real estate sector, merger and acquisition services at Deloitte. Langford discusses the current distressed state of the commercial real estate market, including hotels and retail. He also considers when markets might bottom out and the effect of large pools of funds from potential investors who are beginning to dip their toe into the market.