The Midwest reported positive annual returns of 5.3 percent versus July 2006 on the S&P/GRA Commercial Real Estate Indexes, but still lagged behind three other regions.

The indexes measure the change in commercial real estate prices by property sector.

In a press release by Standard & Poors, the national composite reported overall positive returns for the same time period of 6.4 percent. The Mid Atlantic South region posted the only negative annual return of 0.2 percent.

“Annual returns in most regions and sectors continue to be positive in the commercial real estate sector,” says David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s. “In the property sector solid double-digit returns are being made, with the exception of apartments, while annual returns on all regions but the Mid Atlantic South are positive. Even with these positive returns, however, the trend suggests a deceleration in the annual returns.”