CB Richard Ellis feeling industry pain

Competing large real estate brokerages are also laboring in the down economy, and real estate stocks in general are down 70% to 90% from a year ago, analysts said. Competitor Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.'s stock is off 66% from last year and closed Wednesday at $24.53. Grubb & Ellis Co. shares have fallen about 80% in value and closed at $1.14.

Profit at CB Richard Ellis was $56.1 million in the third quarter, compared with $29.7 million at Jones Lang LaSalle and a loss of $44 million at Grubb & Ellis. Cushman & Wakefield, which is owned by an Italian company and not traded in the United States, reported a profit of about $10.7 million.

William Blair & Co. predicts CB Richard Ellis' stock will outperform the market but should experience "significant volatility in share price in the near term."

Like practically every other business, the brokerage's future depends on how well the world copes with recession, analyst Silvers said. "It's a good company, but they are not so good that the economy won't hurt them," he said. "Nobody is."

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roger.vincent@latimes.com