The lending and global credit crises already have hurt the residential real estate market in Utah by making it more difficult to qualify for home loans. Now it appears the commercial market is headed for its own downturn.

Several speakers at the NAI Utah Economic & Real Estate Summit on Tuesday said there is less demand for office and retail space along the Wasatch Front and throughout the state as companies of all kinds put off expansion plans, cut back or even file for bankruptcy.

"Utah is probably going to perform pretty darn well through all of this, comparatively speaking, but it isn't recession-proof," said keynote speaker Peter Linneman, professor of real estate, finance and public policy at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

The one sector of commercial real estate holding up the best is the market for industrial space, which includes buildings that house distribution, warehouse and manufacturing facilities.

"The industrial market is going to remain pretty solid," said Jim Sheldon, an industrial real estate agent for NAI Utah. Part of the reason is that the market for industrial space was not overbuilt in recent years, which puts it in a better position as companies scale back their plans.

The same can't be said for the office market, which is seeing growing vacancies, said Barbara Johnson, an NAI office specialist. The problem stems from a combination of two factors: the boom in office-building construction in recent years, which has pushed supply up, and reduced demand among office tenants.

David Winnie, who directs NAI Utah's commercial retail department, said a "perfect storm" of bad news is affecting the retail segment, which is heading into what is shaping up to be one of the worst holiday shopping seasons in recent history.
    Ailing Mervyns LLC, which already has closed some underperforming stores, announced last week it would shutter its last 149 stores, including six in Utah. Linens 'n Things is closing all of its outlets, including a store in Sandy.

More such closures are expected after the make-or-break holiday shopping season, Winnie said.

Компания "SV Development"