"Dallas is a victim of the outside. The fundamentals of thismarket remain more balanced than any other market in the country,"says John Alvarado, Jones Lang LaSalle's managing director inDallas. "We're at a standstill because we're in a moment oftransition."

Zaya Younan, chairman and CEO of Los Angeles-based YounanProperties Inc., faults the Feds for not stepping in quicker tobail out the system so markets like Dallas, where fundamentals arestill good, could keep moving. "They reacted very slowly to come upwith policies to reverse the trends," Younan contends, "and to thisday, they are reacting slower than they should be. That's why theconfidence factor is lower."

Both pros have vested interest in Dallas: Alvarado as aninvestment sales broker and Younan as the owner of the largestclass A office portfolio in the city. [IMGCAP(2)]"Dallas commercialreal estate investment has halted," Younan says, emphasizing thatthe region isn't at fault. As a result, he insists it's too earlyin this market to have an impact on tenant decisions. "The weaknesshas not been prolonged long enough to have an impact," heexplains.