High office building vacancies may mean trouble for banks (New London Day)
Vacancy rates in office buildings exceed 10 percent in virtually every major city in the country and are rising rapidly, a sign of economic distress

Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust Announces Normal Course Issuer Bid (Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance)
Allied Properties REIT announced today that the Toronto Stock Exchange has accepted its notice of intention to conduct a normal course issuer Bid to enable it to purchase up to 3,003,667 of its 31,235,668 outstanding units, representing approximately 10% of the REIT's public float of 30,036,674 Units as of December 23, 2008, pursuant to TSX rules.

As Vacant Office Space Grows, So Does Lenders Crisis (The Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
Rising vacancy rates across the country could make it hard for building owners to pay their mortgages.

PRESS RELEASE: Fitch Downgrades Triton CMBS (Nasdaq)
UK commercial property values have declined significantly since the transaction closed, while the securitised portions of the loans do not amortise, resulting in increased balloon repayment risk.

U.S. commercial property in a downward spiral (International Herald Tribune)
With job cuts rampant and businesses retrenching, more empty office space is expected from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles in the coming year.

China to Introduce Real Estate Investment Trusts, Qi Says (Bloomberg)
Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- China’s central bank and bank regulator are formulating a plan to allow developers to raise funds through real estate investment trusts, or REITs, said the country’s vice housing minister.

St Albans law firm's optimism (St Albans & Harpenden Review)
A ST ALBANS law firm is defying the economic slump by appointing a new partner in commercial property, poached from a rival firm.