Investment in commercial real estate is at its lowest levels since 2013, office buildings are selling at steep discounts, and commercial construction is slowing dramatically, aside from apartments. Lenders and the larger economy should be able to weather the real estate downturn, provided multi-family doesn’t follow down the same path that office space has, according to a leading commercial real estate economist. “It is a period of pause in real estate, but no doom loop is at play,” said Richard Barkham, global chief economist with CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, during a mid-year update for the National Association of Real Estate Editors in Austin on June 19. Tenants are now requiring only 60% to 70% of the office space that they needed in 2019 because of the shift toward remote work that accelerated during the pandemic.