Even the industry’s largest real estate brokerage firm fell to the declining real estate market. But LA commercial real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis has bounced back in the second half of 2009 after hitting the reds in the early months of the year. And now, its chief executive is predicting that the market will be on the rebound as well pretty soon.

CB Richard Ellis had make internal cuts and this – coupled with a real estate rebound in Asia – made them turn in some profit for the latter half of last year. It continued its upward pace when sales and leases increased in Europe and US. Currently, the company employs 29,000 people in 300 offices worldwide.

Being one of the stronger companies in this still recovering economy, CB Richard Ellis has a thing or two to say about recession and state of commercial real estate market. And that’s what Chief Executive Brett White, who climbed his way up from being a sales trainee in 1984, did.

White shares that the market fell twice despite its cyclical nature because even as the end is nearing, people were feeling confident that they can outwit the end. But people should have known when to stop: during the peaks at 2006 to early 2008, investors were already buying properties based on forecasted values, assuming that rent will grow and ask for prices that are unjustified. Even with credit market shock, people assumed the problem is rooted in the residential side, not realizing that things are connected and that the commercial side is soon to follow.

The market is slowly picking up but White says that, despite the forecasted decline in vacancies and rise in rents for all property types by the middle of next year, everyone should be careful. Job growth is still anemic and this may cause the growth to slow down.

White shares that currently, multifamily is leading the way in commercial property recovery. With a high demand for apartments, rents are now picking up. Office and retail may soon follow and industrial may be the last to recover.