Standard & Poor's today announced the November results for the S&P/GRA Commercial Real Estate Indices. The indices measure the change in commercial real estate prices by property sector and geographic region in the United States. The S&P/GRA Commercial Real Estate Indices comprise ten commercial real estate indices: a national composite, five geographic regions, and four national property sectors.

The National composite reported annual returns of +4.9% versus November of last year, this rate is unchanged from October's report. On a regional level, only the Mid Atlantic South reported an annual decline, down 1.9% from November 2006. This is the largest decline since the 2001/2002-time period when that region was experiencing consistent declines in commercial real estate prices. The Pacific West, while still in positive territory, reported its fifth consecutive deceleration in annual returns coming in at +6.4%. After experiencing three years of double-digit growth rates, this region appears to be slowing down to rates last seen in early 2004. In the property sector, Apartments, which has seen decelerating or declining returns since August 2006, reported its first positive annual growth rate in eight months, up 2.4% from November 2006. Office, Retail and Warehouse continued their trend of diminishing annual returns.

"On a national scale annual returns flattened this month," says David Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's. "However, it would be premature to assume that this indicates an end to the deceleration in commercial real estate prices seen in prior months, and visible in both the sector and regional indices. Interestingly, the Apartment sector reported its second consecutive improvement in its growth rate and a gain that matches the returns of early 2007. However, a few more months of data are needed before a recovery in this sector can be determined."

The S&P/GRA Commercial Real Estate Indices are published on the second to last Tuesday of each month at 9:00 am ET. They are calculated to reflect underlying real estate and capital market fundamentals by measuring the change in commercial real estate prices by property sector and geographic region. Reported index values are based on a three-month rolling average transaction price per square foot, and are computed using a stock value, or market capitalization-weighted, methodology. This approach utilizes average transaction prices per square foot and commercial real estate stock data to derive index levels.

To be eligible for inclusion, property sales must be identified as closed transactions in the defined commercial real estate regions and sectors. Closed commercial transactions are those where the escrow has closed and the title has been transferred to the new owner. There are no transactions included in the index that are appraisals, just listed, sales pending, or in escrow.