Wednesday July 22, 2009

Section LOCAL NEWS

Page 1

Next collapse may be worse

Commercial real estate market poised to tank.

By SHANNON BEHNKEN

sbehnken@tampatrib.com

TAMPA - The weakening commercial real estate market is braced for a bust that experts say could cause even more damage to the local economy than the housing meltdown.

"Any projects built in the last five years, especially those built near new residential developments, are at risk," said Shari Olefson, a Tampa real estate lawyer with Fowler, White and Boggs. "I'm hearing from a lot of owners who just want to walk away, just as homeowners are turning over the keys."

Florida cities already are among the nation's hardest-hit by home foreclosures. Similar problems in the commercial real estate market would cause the recovery of the economy to take even longer. That's worrisome because estimates call for the commercial real estate market, valued at about $6.7 trillion nationally, to see half of its loans due during the next three years.

At the same time, U.S. banks have been charging off soured commercial mortgages at...