Property values have declined on paper, but would-be buyers haven’t been able to walk off with offices, shopping centers, hotels, and warehouses at fire-sale prices, and very few properties are changing hands.

“Investors seem surprised at the lack of quality buying opportunities given the problems in the financial markets and the continued weakening of the industry’s fundamentals,” says Susan Smith, director of the real estate advisory practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Investors are expected to keep waiting because many properties purchased during 2006 and 2007 are over-leveraged and lenders will eventually be forced to foreclose and sell them at a discount.

Source: Los Angeles Times, Roger Vincent (09/15/09)

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Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Keller Williams Realty Metro Atlanta
315 West Ponce de Leon Ave., Ste. 100
Decatur, GA 30030
o- (404) 564-5560
Blog – http://elliottonrealestate.com
Twitter – http://twitter.com/elliottrob