The locally based research firm reports that just $2.7 billion of commercial property changed hands in February, with apartments accounting for $600 million of that total. But a look at the number of properties in trouble is a telltale indicator of potential activity. Some $5.7 billion worth of commercial property "spilled into trouble through default, foreclosure or bankruptcy" in February, and the amount of assets on the sales block ballooned as well, coming in at $11 billion across all property types.

Compared to closings, the level of offerings "is rising off the charts." In the apartment sector alone, there were five offerings for every one closing so far this year--a bit higher than the overall market and significantly higher than the one-to-one ratio in ideal times.This supply-demand incongruity is putting downward pressure on prices, and this "is likely to only worsen over the near term since behind the statistics are sellers that are rapidly morphing from pressured to distressed, while buyers are content to wait," say RCA analysts.

The individual sales that are getting done are also shrinking. The largest property to sell in February traded for just $40 million. Yet REITs were able to shed some assets in packages, however modest. Equity Residential sold four communities in Hartford, while Aimco flipped portfolios in San Antonio and Indianapolis.