Opportunities Scorecard

Distress continues to mount across the US, reaching a total of more than $180 billion in the latest reports by New York City-based Real Capital Analytics. And yet, as RCA and others have noted in recent analyses, the investment market continues to improve and prices continue to rise for certain classes of properties, especially trophy assets in top markets. Add to that, the economy is recovering, though its on/off nature raises the specter of a double-dip.

The paradox between rising distress totals and the general improvement in real estate markets seems to suggest two parallel universes. But a case can be made that it’s all of a piece: Despite the rising levels of distress, the totals are rising at a slower pace these days, suggesting that distress, in its own way, is improving along the lines of the overall economy.