As a result, investment in these types of structures has been declining. Two silver linings to this cloud, though faint and of little comfort to the heavy construction industry, are nevertheless worth pointing out.
First, in large part because of improved risk management practices, weakness in the nonresidential real estate sector has not led to increased incidence of nonperforming loans and capital shortages among financial intermediaries, as was the case in some regions in the 1990-91 "capital crunch" episode.