The year over year rental rates for the 1st Quarter of 2011 saw commercial rents slide backwards approximately 2.1% according to real estate consultants Reis Inc. as reported by real estate blogger Jonathon Lansner of the Orange County Register. I've personally appraised only 4 commercial properties during this quarter but my market analysis for those properties supports this trend. My 75+ residential appraisals during this quarter provide data that residential rates are trending up slightly, around 2-3% year over year. This makes sense considering the foreclosure/bankruptcy crisis is still going full steam in SoCal and displaced homeowners need places to rent. Orange County Properties as whole don't make too much sense for investors because the market is still too high in a mortgage versus rent scenario, but other locations in southern California especially the Inland Empire and parts of Los Angeles County and San Diego County are attractive if you find the right property.