Commercial downturns follow residential problems

Mirroring the problems in the residential real estate industry, the demand for commercial real estate is also mired in a big slump.

According to a story from the Reuters news service, the Reis commercial real estate firm reported that the national office vacancy rate in the fourth quarter rose from 11.6 percent to 12.6 percent.

What does this mean? Only that the real estate slump is not only a long-term one but a wide one, too. It encompasses commercial as well as residential real estate.

For those still hoping that 2008 will bring about an upturn in the real estate industry, this latest news is not good. It’s a sobering reality: The real estate downturn is not going to end any time soon.