Early this week we told you about strong tourism numbers; and now, it’s another sign that the economy could be waking up in Central Oregon. The President of the largest commercial real estate company in Central Oregon says in the last few months of 2010, his company started seeing many more people coming into the market.   A Bend based commercial real estate company is sending a strong buying signal right now.  Darren Powderly, President of Compass Commercial Real Estate Services in Bend says this is the "year of the deal" in Central Oregon commercial real estate. Powderly says they saw a noticeable increase in activity the last quarter of 2010.  “The second half of 2010 the velocity of the deal flow really started to increase and we felt our phones really start ringing. The confidence pervaded throughout the business community, not only for business owners, but for investors. People were hesitant to step back in because they felt there was a double dip, and now that has really subsided. People are starting to spend money. And they’re really starting to be able to predict where their business will be 12 months from now and that gives them a level of confidence so they can start investing.” Powderly says the toughest part of the market is landlords who have vacancies.  Right now the industrial and office vacancy rate in the Bend area is 20%, which is pretty high. Powderly was a guest on the KBND Morning News program “Your Town” Wednesday.