Luckily for banks, the commercial real estate time bomb just keeps on ticking.  Industry observers have issued dire warnings for more than a year, suggesting that lenders are on a collision course with potentially billions of dollars worth of commercial real estate losses.

But for all the gloomy talk, the fallout has remained

relatively well contained.

Banks have already recognized about $50 billion in losses, or about 60% of the estimated cumulative losses, according to real estate research firm Foresight Analytics.

And despite a steep drop in the price of apartments, office buildings and industrial properties nationwide over the past year, there have been recent indicators to suggest that the market may have finally hit bottom.

After 13 months of consecutive declines, overall commercial property values climbed 1%, according to the most recent monthly reading by Moody's/REAL Commercial Property Price Index.

Even well-respected bankers have offered a glass half-full outlook on the state of the commercial real estate market.

"Commercial real estate is a train wreck, but it's already happened," JPMorgan Chase chief executive officer Jamie Dimon said during a company-sponsored conference last month.

But some commercial real estate industry experts have been quick to caution that the problems aren't over yet.

Read on...