RCA in the commercial property press:

Deal, No Deal

Gulf Goast Business Review reports: Sales of commercial properties on the Gulf Coast have fallen 82% so far this year. Buyers and sellers are still far apart on price, but some think activity may pick up by the end of the year.

Here’s an indication of how tough the commercial-property market has become.

Orlando-based Eola Capital and an undisclosed seller came within 2% of closing on a deal for a commercial building in the Tampa area before both sides walked away. “We just couldn’t close the gap,” says Kyle Burd, Eola’s regional vice president in Tampa. “There wasn’t the motivation.”

In the commercial real estate boom that peaked a few years ago, a narrow a gap would never have halted a deal. But in this downturn the smallest molehills turn into insurmountable obstacles.

On the Gulf Coast from Tampa to Naples, the volume of commercial-property sales has fallen 82% in the first five months of 2009 to $137 million compared to the same period in 2008, according to Real Capital Analytics. There have been just 15 transactions so far this year exceeding $5 million, down 69% from the 48 in the same period last year.

“We’re experiencing that everywhere,” says Jessica Ruderman, senior analyst with Real Capital Analytics. Nationwide, commercial-property sales are down 75% in that same period. “Buyers and sellers haven’t agreed on a price yet.”