Through the first 10 months of the year, the owners of commercial property took in $452 million in lease payments, a shade above the $450 million they collected during the same period in 2009.

That may not sound exciting, but consider that landlord revenues during the same period were down in most Florida counties, including 9 percent in Manatee, 13 percent in Collier, 5 percent in Charlotte, 2 percent in Pinellas, 4 percent in Palm Beach and 2 percent each in Broward, Orange and Lee.

Statewide, landlord revenues fell 1 percent through October to $23.8 billion.

The struggles of landlords are turning into bargains for tenants, said Stan Rutstein, a commercial real estate agent for Re/Max Alliance Group in Bradenton.

The increase in landlord revenues in Sarasota County was recorded despite falling rental rates, suggesting that landlords are accepting what they can get rather than have their property stand vacant.

“I tell all my landlords, I say to them it’s very simple, I don’t have a lot of customers on the bus,” Rutstein said. “If we don’t take this customer, I don’t know when the next is coming.”

The only major counties where landlords reported increased revenue were Brevard, 5 percent; Volusia, 2 percent; Miami-Dade, 2 percent; and Hillsborough and Duval, 1 percent each.

While reporting dismal results for the first two quarters of 2010, Manatee County landlords scored their first improved quarter in two years. Landlord revenues were down 16 percent in the first quarter and 11 percent in the second quarter, but rose 1 percent in the third quarter.

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