CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—It's official. The commercial real estate lending market has returned to health, or at least is on the cusp of doing so, according to two separate reports, one by SNL Financial, the other by Chandan Economics. Both note that loan delinquencies are reaching post-crisis lows and that lending is increasing at a healthy clip.

WASHINGTON, DC—The commercial real estate initiatives of this city and the surrounding area, not the political entity otherwise known as the Nation's Capital, seems to fare better when Republicans control both sides of Congress. That is the eyebrow-raising conclusion of a CBRE study—a finding that surprised the report authors as well. "We weren't expecting the numbers to be so lopsided," says Marianne Swearingen, a research manager at CBRE's local office.

A crisis brewing in the Eurozone. Employment growth in the US that started out well in January only to peter out in the spring. Deadlock in Congress over tax and budget issues. A rating agency threatens to downgrade US credit unless said tax and budget issues are resolved. Rock-bottom interest rates that make any investment a better prospect than T-bills. If one didn't know any better, this could easily be late summer of 2011.

WASHINGTON, DC—The US Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have resolved a key sticking point as they work to establish a converged standard for lease accounting: how to account for lease expenses. Earlier this month, the boards opted for a two-method strategy depending on the type of lease—i.e. whether the lease involves the transfer of ownership rights or transfer of right-of-use.

WASHINGTON, DC—It's no secret that the federal government is clamping down on the space its agencies use. A recent memo from Jeffrey Zients, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, to the heads of the executive branch agencies, reiterates that view. According to the May 11 memorandum, an expansion to new federal building space that increases an agency's total square footage of civilian property must be offset through consolidation, co-location or disposal of space from that agency's inventory.

WASHINGTON, DC—During the recession, lowincome housing development and financing—like all commercial real estate projects— went into hibernation. Demand was there, but the Treasury Department's tax credit program that funds many of these projects was not being used much, largely because firms did not have robust profits to offset with the credits. With the recession over, all that is changing—just in time to face another, perhaps fatal challenge: Congress and its army of budget-cutters.

WASHINGTON, DC—A key concern for industry firms is the looming changes to how they account for leases. The International Accounting Standards Board and the US Financial Standards Board have worked—or rather, struggled—to converge their two respective lease accounting standards, and so far the proposals have been less than pleasing to the industry.

Last year, as executives at StarPoint Properties considered the purchase of Parkview Terrace, an apartment building in Los Angeles, many factors went into the $79-million purchase price it would eventually pay. This included the terminal cap rate—the cap rate the building would trade at if StarPoint were to sell it within the next five years. And that number was? An eyepopping—in some people's opinion—100 to 150 basis points higher than today's.