Judging from the looks on the faces of the commercial real estate brokers and leasing agents I know, those little green shoots that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke mentioned a few weeks ago might just as well have been “little green men.”

A dearth of deals in the property sector is an indication that although we’ve poured billions of dollars into the banking bailout, companies are not confident enough to get into expansion mode.

Moreover, with layoffs still mounting and consumers pulling back dramatically, the environment for retail leasing and retail development is the worst it has been in years.

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