Office fundamentals, while beginning to stabilize in major markets, are still slipping. Exerts predict that vacancy rates will continue ticking upward throughout 2010, while asking rents may still have some time to spend along the bottom before starting to climb. For tenants that have a clear sense of what their long-term business picture looks like, this reamins a prime time to be in the market.

Last week’s GlobeSt.com poll, with approximately 230 votes cast, suggests that a majority of readers believe landlords are out in the cold. Forty-two percent of respondents ask “what tenants?” and 40% say tenants are getting whatever they ask for. At the other end of the spectrum, just 18% say tenants are signing more leases. Robert Stella, EVP and principal of tenant-rep firm CresaPartners in New York City, thinks his clients continue to cast a wary eye on the bottom line.

“There are tenants out signing leases now. Looking back a year ago, everybody was on the sidelines, not knowing if their business was going to be stable and taking measures to survive. People have now had 18 months since this whole thing began, and those that survived this have decided to keep going. They’ve right-sized their businesses as best they can to ride it out. There remains an air of caution, and people are bargaining for the best thing they can and still trying to preserve cash.