S&P says it's to be a "Great Depression" for real estate

Don't misunderstand my posting this -- I fully agree with most of you that S&P and the other rating agencies have lost all credibility. However, they are still rating deals, and so I point out that at 5 oclock Friday (yesterday) when everybody in the market was on the train back home, S&P put out this release on commercial re. It basically says they are sticking to their extremely bearish... [more]

Don't misunderstand my posting this -- I fully agree with most of you that S&P and the other rating agencies have lost all credibility. However, they are still rating deals, and so I point out that at 5 oclock Friday (yesterday) when everybody in the market was on the train back home, S&P put out this release on commercial re. It basically says they are sticking to their extremely bearish position on commercial real estate, and comparing what is about to come to the "extreme stress" of the Great Depression: "We determined the higher enhancement level based on a number of factors, but primarily on our assessment of potential commercial property value declines in the range of 40% to 50% under conditions of extreme stress, such as during the Great Depression," the rating agency said. http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/commercial/ [less]