Just when you thought it was safe to start developing large office buildings and apartment complexes again, values of the pre-existing ones slide to a new low. Unlike a set of push-ups, the recent drop won't give you a return of 20, but it's likely you'll end up taking a loss. REALTOR Magazine Daily News reports:

Apartment values slipped 1.4 percent from $68,846 per unit in last year's fourth quarter to $67,884, while office values declined from $134.76 per square foot to $132.33 over that same time span. The statistics mark the fifth consecutive quarter of declining values for offices, even though Reis researchers note that properties sold during the January-through-March period fetched an average $165.60 per sq. ft.--a premium of 25 percent over the Reis value. The effects of America's continued economic downturn continue to have negative effects on suburban office space.

It's really funny because I could have sworn that I heard somewhere that office building and apartment values were supposed to go up this year.

Now's a great time to buy.

For a full copy of the Reis report, visit Reis.com.

In other real estate news, Gawker reports that rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Chelsea is now going for $2,477 a month. It's much cheaper to buy a Florida home, or even a beach condo or a nice loft in Tampa's Hyde Park or Channelside areas. Want more New York area real estate news? Check out Curbed. No, I do not sell or lease real estate in New York, only in Florida.

Rates stabilized this week, according to BankRate.com:

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage stayed the same at 6.35 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.39 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 5.39 percent.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 3 basis points to 5.71 percent. The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell 1 basis point to 4.11 percent.

While they're stable right now, they could still go up some more this summer if the Fed makes them. Take the new poll on my blog and share your views on whether or not the Fed should raise rates more.

-John Mudd
"Mr. Real Estate"