Many commercial real estate brokers and analysts here and acrossthe nation tell GlobeSt.com that they've never before been sodeluged with reports that suggest that the value of big shoppingmalls and other retail properties are poised for a solid increase-- or that prices have already peaked and will continue to tumbleover obstacles that include a faltering economy and growing joblessrate.

In the past, the holiday sales reports by the nation's bigretailers were a fairly good indicator of the retail propertymarket's overall health. Solid levels of consumer spending not onlypoint to underlying economic strength, but also tend to fatten theprofits of property owners because many landlords base their renton a percentage of their retail tenants' sales.

This year, however, major retailers are reporting mixed salesresults. While retail giant Wal-Mart says its domestic sales on theFriday after Thanksgiving -- the unofficial kick-off of theall-important holiday sales season -- set a single-day record ofnearly $1.3 billion, other retailers have recently reported salesdeclines of 5% to 10% from a year ago. Some have already startedslashing prices further in order to lure more shoppers throughtheir doors.