Distressed commercial real estate properties now total about $180 billion, according to Real Capital Analytics, a New York research firm, according to a report today by Denise Kalette at nreionline.com.

Las Vegas is the hardest hit market with $17.7 billion of properties that are delinquent, in default, bankrupt, foreclosed, or otherwise owned by lenders, the report maintained, added that "Manhattan had the second-highest amount of troubled properties as of November, $12.3 billion, followed by Miami, with $7.6 billion and Los Angeles, $7.1 billion."

The study quoted Dan Fasulo, managing director of Real Capital Analytics, as stated that "The distress is formidable," adding that most of the financial problems accumulated between September 2008, following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and November 2009. Mr. Fasulo added that he thought "we might hit the apex in the middle of 2010 and then start working our way down."

Real Capital estimated that only 10 percent of the distress properties' problems have been resolved, adding that properties without cash flow are "assets that have no chance of recovering their full value in the short term. In those situations lenders just aren't in a position to carry those assets for a long time."

Retail was the hardest-hit sector with $37.5 billion in troubled assets, according to the report, followed by hotels with $32 billion, office, $28.2 billion, apartments, $27.9 billion, and industrial, $5 billion.

Mr. Fasulo remarked that many investors are "aggravated" despite the high number of distressed properties as many are not coming to market "in the usual way, with the help of brokers." "A lot of investors are trying to sneak in and buy the first mortgage or mezzanine debt to take control of the property that way instead of participating in a public auction," Mr. Fasulo maintained.