The extra yield investors demand to hold top-ranked commercial-mortgage bonds rather than Treasuries has declined to 2.3 percentage points from 2.61 percentage points this year, according to the Barclays Capital CMBS AAA Super Duper Index.

That may not be enough to bail out the Baybrook Gateway Mall in Webster, Texas, 22 miles (35 kilometers) southeast of Houston.

A $41 million mortgage on the shopping center, originated by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in December 2006 and sold as part of a commercial-mortgage bond deal two months later, was handed over to a firm that handles troubled loans because the borrower couldn't refinance debt that matured this month, according to Fitch Ratings. So-called special servicers determine whether to modify loan terms or foreclose on property owners struggling to make payments.

Texas Mall Negotiates

Baybrook, co-owned by Blackstone Group LP's Brixmor Property Group Inc. and JP Morgan Chase & Co., is currently working with the special servicer to resolve the finances, Stacy Slater, a spokeswoman for Brixmor, said in a telephone call. The mall lost tenants, such as Linens 'n Things Inc. which filed for bankruptcy in 2008, she said, declining to comment further.

A $43.5 million mortgage on One Citizens Plaza, a 224,089 square-foot office building that houses the headquarters of Citizens Financial Group in Providence, Rhode Island, also ran into trouble this month before its Jan. 11 maturity date, according to Fitch. Though the building was 98 percent occupied as of September, the borrower didn't repay the mortgage originated by Wachovia Corp. in 2006, Bloomberg data show.

"We are just beginning communications with the lender about this loan," said David Snyder, chief financial officer of KBS Realty Advisors, a private-equity real estate investment company in Newport Beach, California that owns the property. "At this juncture we are unable to predict the outcome," he said in an e-mail.

Late Payments

Late payments on loans packaged into bonds are at 8.95 percent in December, down from 9 percent in November, according to an S&P report. The rating company forecasts delinquencies will rise to between 9.5 percent and 10 percent in 2012.

Borrowers with prime properties in the best neighborhoods of Manhattan, such as the area between 42nd Street and Central Park, aren't likely to struggle to pay down debt, even as they deal with overhang from the boom years, according to Peter DiCorpo, president of CBRE Global Investors U.S. managed accounts group.

"The assets around Grand Central or near the park district are going to do well all day," said DiCorpo, who is based in Los Angeles. "If you have an asset that is way off the beaten path, that is going to be a harder sell."