High season for the real estate market traditionally starts in April and runs to June. Although the market has been slow, there are signs it is picking up again, with an increasing interest in commercial property and customer investments. Even though business is nowhere near what it was, and will take quite some time to reach past levels, there is a small but growing demand for commercial property. Analysts think this is partly due to the current low interest rates for commercial mortgages, which make this the right time for the purchase of or investment in commercial buildings.

Korean real estate companies are also seeing some good signs of a restoration of the market in commercial property throughout the City, especially in the Bayside and Flushing areas, but also the Bronx and Brooklyn.

Ms. Young-sil Chon, a broker at Keller Williams said, "The demand for commercial buildings in Flushing and Bayside is steady. The economic depression is deep, so the rising inquiry in this busy season is not quite like last year's. Nevertheless, inquiries for purchase and investment of commercial buildings are slowly rising."

Sang-ku Chong, president of the Wanganui Real Estate Company, said, "Inquiries for commercial property in Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, where rents on unused buildings are comparatively low, are up by about 40 percent. These areas are crowded with commercial buildings, and the number of prospective buyers looking into these properties has gone up steadily in the past two months."

An area's supply of unused commercial property is an important factor for investment because it figures into rents. In the past, the rate of unused commercial property around Northern Boulevard was about five percent. But recently, many businesses have been forced to close due to the continued economic downturn, pushing the rate to between 10 and 20 percent. Income from rents has fallen, and so have property prices. The combination of these factors – low rents, low prices, and low mortgage rates – seems to be responsible for the increase in the interest commercial property around the city.

According to a report by the Golden Bridge Company of Queens, the price of commercial buildings in Flushing and Queens is down by 10 to 15 percent, compared with last year.

"Low interest mortgages have fallen to six percent, from last year's seven to eight percent. This is really helping clients. This is the right time to purchase a mortgage," said Golden Bridge President Mr. Young-bok Lee. But he also added that most mortgage banks are now enforcing stringent documentation – including proof of income from business income tax reports. That is leading Korean investors who are having trouble getting loans from mortgage banks to try securing mortgages from real estate owners.

Mr. Won-jong Lee, a real estate lawyer, said, "Mortgage interest rates are lower than they have ever been, and the price of real estate is falling, so this would be a great time to purchase. But with mortgage banks' increased credit checks, and tightened credit lines, finding a mortgage loan has in fact, become more difficult."

Regardless of how difficult it may be to secure mortgage loan, inquiries are up, and steadily increasing, and analysts take this to be a sign of a recovering economy.