Commercial real estate property prices slipped 5.1% in July, and are down 30.8% from the same time last year. The month’s decline put values 38.7% below the October ’07 peak, according to the Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Index (CPPI). Sales counts also declined from the previous month, with just over 300 transactions totaling $3.6bn in July, Moody’s Investors Service said. Apartment properties in the Eastern region are holding up better than the nation, while they sit at their lowest recorded level in the Southern region. Retail and office property prices dropped sharply in the Southern California region after their peak. Annual declines hit San Francisco’s office property market the hardest, declining 27% over the past year. Florida’s apartment index continues to drop, having fallen nearly 50% from peak. The deteriorating commercial property prices come at the same time a Moody’s Economy.com analyst projects at least another decade will pass before housing prices return to peak 2006 levels. Write to Diana Golobay.