Commercial real estate is in a funk. There’s no money to be made. And no one is doing any deals anyway. Right?

Think again. While a slew of brokerage offices have closed and deal volume is down, the game is not over. In fact, a bunch of players are out there doing business right now, from brokers to investors to financiers.

It’s folks like Fred Sands, who recently bought a Carson mall and is repositioning it. Or broker Bob Safai who has sold a property for a cash-short investor. Or Jeff Friedman, who’s raised a $1.5 billion investment fund.

All in all, the Business Journal’s Who’s Who in Real Estate Special Report for 2009 profiles 14 of these fearless, down-market competitors in their own words.