Jill Schneider: Where are we now, where are we headed and where are the opportunities?

Uncertainty is the most significant issue for commercial real estate in the post-recession environment. The good news is that commercial markets are improving. Following sharp declines and deleveraging in the wake of financial and economic turmoil, commercial real estate is showing signs that the deterioration of industry transactions and fundamentals has begun to plateau, and that early stages of recovery may be imminent. The 2010 Christmas season showed the largest jump in retail sales since 2006, indicating that consumers are slowly expressing more confidence about the future, and businesses are moving to meet that increasing demand. More lenders are re-entering the commercial real estate market, including foreign banks, which creates more competition among creditors and more choices for borrowers. Some commercial borrowers, however, are still struggling to meet financial obligations as the economy slowly recovers. The federal government's tax cuts, the sales of treasuries, and aggressive tax deductions aimed at helping small and medium-sized businesses have offered a short-term boost to the economy, though the ballooning national debt is giving rise to fears of inflation. Business may not yet be booming, but it is gaining strength and the need for commercial space will continue to increase. Jill Schneider, JD, LLM, MBA is the tax director at Feldman, Meinberg & Company, LLP.