WASHINGTON, DC-Delta Associates will be releasing figures thisweek that show the current total value of distressed commercialreal estate nationwide at $166.8 billion. This number, compiledwith data from Real Capital Analytics--which includes properties indistress, foreclosure and lender REO--represents an 11% decreasefrom the last report in March. At that time, the total value ofdistressed commercial real estate was $187.4billion--an increase of 10% or $17.3 billion--since the January report and 33%, or $46.9 billion, fromthe November 2009 report.

So has the commercial real estate industry reached, finally, thebottom and is now beginning a turnaround? Maybe or maybe not is thedisappointing answer--with an emphasis on maybe not. "Therehas been a slowdown in distressed assets for a couple of reasons,"Delta Associates head Greg Leisch tells GlobeSt.com. "Lenders arecontinuing to work with borrowers to extend loans. Also, in manymajor markets we have seen the decline in valuations finally slowor stop. Some markets have even turned back up." He doesn’t believethat the decline in distress will continue, though. "I think wewill hold in this current range for the next 18 months," Leischpredicts.

That said, this report does represent a milestone for theindustry. Since Delta began compiling these statistics last year,it is the first time that the volume of distressed commercial realestate has dropped. By contrast, total value of distressed realestate was doubling every three months during the first half of2009.