Brian O’Hearn is an accidental landlord.

Like more and more homeowners caught in the descending mortgage spiral, O’Hearn and his wife, Juliet Williams, faced tough choices. Married in June, they owned his house in Folsom and her Sacramento condo — and both wanted to live in midtown.

Ted White has worked in residential property management in the Sacramento area for more than three decades. He gloried in the boom times and helped homeowners and investors slog through the murky waters of the ongoing real estate meltdown in one of the hardest-hit housing markets in the nation.

Some said it would never happen. We have bobbed and weaved around building a new sports and entertainment complex for more than a decade.

Barely a month into Barack Obamas presidency, his administration announced a major effort to help millions of underwater homeowners refinance into mortgages with lower interest rates. But the Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, came with limitations that stifled its effectiveness.

Some developers are building again, prodded by increases in buyer traffic at model homes and an uptick in sales over the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first months of 2012.

The Capital Region’s commercial real estate market in the past five years has shifted from a system dominated by a few big brokers to a diverse pool of smaller offices and team players. As post-recession business gains steam, that market is being eyed for its unplowed territory.

As Sacramento attempts to forge a regional economic development strategy, manufacturing is being touted as a potential breadwinner, but rebuilding the industry piecemeal could take time.

Tightening belts may be the overall theme in commercial real estate these days, but a little planning can turn into big savings. Business owners looking for a home and landlords seeking tenant upgrades can trim expenses without shredding the wish list.

The Capital Region’s tenant improvement market is trudging along, mired by a deep air of malaise following years of construction decline.

On a breezy, blue-sky day in late November, West Sacramento city and regional planning officials gathered near Raley Field to celebrate the opening of Tower Bridge Gateway, a reconstructed boulevard connecting Highway 50 to Tower Bridge.