PNC: Office Market Faces 'Uphill Climb'

Office rents are still falling, though at a declining rate, and a tenants' market is likely to prevail well into next year, according to a report by PNC Real Estate Finance, Pittsburgh.Nicholas Buss, group manager of real estate market research at PNC, said the bottom line is that "we are not out of the woods yet." Mr. Buss, one of the authors of the report, said recovery in the office market will depend on sustained job creation. "The office market faces a tough uphill climb," he said. "The good news is that more of the excesses have been wrung from the system -- tenants have downsized and are lean and mean, rents are close to bottom, and new construction has all but stopped." The report is titled "Myth or Reality: No Worse, No Better, No Hope? Catching Up With the Office Market." The company can be found online at http://webqa.pncrealestatefinance.com.