The U.S. commercial real estate market, slammed by the credit squeeze and recession, is likely to hit bottom in 2010, according to a survey of industry investors, developers, lenders and consultants.

U.S. mortgage applications rose for the first time in four weeks, reflecting a jump in demand for home refinancing loans as interest rates on 30-year loans dropped below 5 percent, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

Commercial real estate faces a crisis in the coming months that—though not as serious as the residential market collapse—will cause significant problems, investor Wilbur Ross told CNBC.

The prices of investment-grade commercial real estate rose more than 4 percent in the third quarter, possibly signaling an end to the sector's year-long downward spiral, according to an leading property index released Tuesday.

U.S. banks are at risk of sizable new loan losses, particularly on commercial property, and some banks may not have sufficient capital to fully cushion against losses, a Federal Reserve official said on Monday.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage edged up just slightly, averaging 5.03 percent for the week ending October 29, 2009, up from last week when it averaged 5.00 percent, according to Freddie Mac.

High foreclosure rates are now moving into metro areas that had avoided the problem before, according to a new report from RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace.

A photographer and an architect plan to freeze one Detroit's thousands of abandoned homes this winter, encasing it in ice to draw attention to foreclosures that have battered the region.

With homebuyers rushing to complete their purchases before a tax credit for first-time owners expires, a report Friday is expected to show strong September sales.

Housing has been struggling to recover this year following the worst collapse in decades, which helped pull the overall economy into the longest recession since the 1930s.

Growing numbers of Americans who have lost houses to foreclosure are landing in homeless shelters, the New York Times reported, citing social service groups and a recent report by a coalition of housing advocates.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.92 percent for the week ending October 15, 2009, up from last week when it averaged 4.87 percent, according to Freddie Mac. Last year at this time, the 30-year averaged 6.46 percent.

Foreclosure notices were up 5 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter, and up 23 percent from the same quarter a year ago, according to the report released by foreclosure tracking Web site RealtyTrac.

Consumers are increasingly late paying off loans on their primary home, as the highest unemployment in a quarter of a century pushes up delinquency rates on most types of loans.

Major mortgage loan servicers showed improved results heading off foreclosures in September, according to a government report released Thursday, helping the Obama administration hit a key target ahead of schedule.