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By Fred B. Cordova III, Colliers International

When the commercial real estate markets flame out, REITs act as the fire engine that comes to the rescue of capital structures consumed by debt.

By Ken Riggs, Real Estate Research Corp.

With growth still very weak, inflation nearly non-existent, and the unemployment rate at 9.6 percent (the longest period of time that the unemployment rate has been 9.5 or higher since the U.S. began keeping records in 1948), it was no surprise that the Federal Open Market Committee decided to purchase another $600 billion of treasuries over the next eight months in an attempt to re-ignite the economy.

By Joey Odom, Stan Johnson Co.

We no more have a crystal ball into what Congress will ultimately do on the issue of tax rates than anyone else. It is clear that the tug-of-war between political parties not only continues but is heightened by the impending return of control over the House of Representatives to Republicans, who are not in favor of any increase in taxes at this time.

BY Bob Dougherty, Buchanan Street Partners

The multi-housing market owes an extraordinary debt of gratitude to government-sponsored enterprises, whose outsize presence in the market has been monumental in fueling its growth and, more recently, its revival from the depths of the credit markets crisis. Yet while the GSEs have never played a larger role in financing apartment communities, many are questioning their usefulness, the necessity of their mandate for the future, and whether we as a nation can afford the costs of a federal hand (or handout) in housing finance.

By Tim Fish and James Tramuto, Jones Lang LaSalle

Banks are slowly but surely shoring up their balance sheets. In need of assets that earn well, they are lending on commercial real estate again.