High vacancy rates may push U.S. commercial real estate investors to seek other opportunities, Bloomberg reported.

Weak demand and a decline in commercial mortgage-backed financing continues to stifle a rebound in the commercial real estate market, Barry Sternlicht, CEO of Starwood Capital Group LLC, said at a panel discussion April 26 in Beverly Hills, Calif.

As office vacancies climbed to a 16-year high in the first quarter, as reported last month by Reis Inc., Sternlicht said investors are waiting to take advantage of the best possible bargains on distressed properties, many of which are currently in the hands of a special servicer.

U.S. commercial real estate values in February were down 42 percent from the market peak in October 2007. According to the Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Index, nearly one-third of repeat sales transactions at that time involved distressed properties, compared with fewer than 20 percent in early 2009.

The volume of such deals may increase in 2011, when distressed properties hit the market, said Michael Van Konynenburg, president of Los Angeles-based commercial brokerage Eastdil Secured LLC.

But Sternlicht said investors with “mountains of cash” may be disappointed to find that discounts for distressed commercial properties have likely come and gone.

“I’m not sure that we’re going to see great opportunities,” said Richard LeFrak, CEO of New York-based LeFrak Organization Inc. “I’m sorry, but I missed the whole thing. It’s like we blinked and it went away.”