Landlords of office buildings continued to cut rental rates in the first quarter, although the size of the reductions slowed and seemed to indicate that commercial real estate was starting to steady after a brutal 2009.

Average net rents nationwide in the office sector, the largest segment of commercial real estate, fell 0.8% in the January-to-March period compared with the prior quarter and were down 7.4% from the same period a year ago, according to Reis Inc.

Of the 79 markets that Reis tracks, rents were stable or rose in 23 markets.

Wall Street Journal