The business news currently written in the press isn’t all pessimism and negative reporting – in fact, there are encouraging articles being published about the economy and the current commercial real estate market conditions. Below is a compilation of some recent articles with a positive slant and helpful strategies that have run in nationwide media outlets.

Small Deals Still Finding Funding

Globest.com has an article about financing that states despite the notion that lending is frozen, there is actually lending money to be had, only for smaller deals. Although this article is specific to the D.C. market, this theory might extend beyond that region. According to the article, top projects are still attracting capital--even from beleaguered sources. Insurance companies, for instance, still have an appetite for real estate. HFF Senior Managing Director Bill Asbill is quoted saying "It takes top quality real estate and sponsors and they generally lend at lower leverage than we have had in the past, but they are still out there."

Where the REITs Are ActiveAccording to the NY Times, the real estate investment trusts owning apartment buildings and self-storage facilities have held up better than most stocks. During Q3, storage REITs surged 19.3 percent, on average, for the quarter, and 33.8 percent, on average, for the first nine months of the year, according to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. Apartment REITs rose by an average of 12.5 percent for the quarter and 17.4 percent for the first three quarters, the association said. All property REITs, by comparison, had an average quarterly gain of 5.5 percent.- NYTimes – Some REITs Like the Smallest Spaces – October 11, 2008 

 Q3 Retail Market Reports Show Strong Performance

Retail vacancy rates and rents held steady in the third quarter despite the addition of new space to the market. The national average retail vacancy rate at the end of Q3 2008 was just 6.6% -- up only 10 basis points over the Q2, according to CoStar Group's third quarter 2008 market analysis. The 10 markets with the lowest overall retail vacancy include the six major California markets:  San Francisco (2.2%), New York City (2.2%), South Bay/San Jose (3.0%), San Diego (3.2%), Orange County, CA (3.3%), Miami-Dade County, FL (3.4%), Los Angeles (3.4%), Washington, D.C. (3.8%), East Bay/Oakland (4.0%), and Seattle (4.3%).-- CoStar - No Sign of a Meltdown in Third Quarter Retail Real Estate Trends – October 15, 2008 

Office Markets Remain Stable in a Turbulent Economy

The office market also performed well in Q3, with net absorption staying positive despite some softening and with more than half of U.S. office markets showing price increases. CoStar found that outside of the New York metro area, Florida/Georgia and Southern California, net absorption was relatively healthy with 26 of 41 markets for which CoStar publishes market reports showing positive net absorption. Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Indianapolis and Houston all showed more than a half million square feet of net positive absorption.

--CoStar -- Office Markets Remain Stable in a Turbulent Economy—October 15, 2008