Market Trends
Latin America Looking Even Better, the Caribbean Still Recuperating
Nov 3rd
The World Economic Outlook recently released by the IMF states that the economies in Latin America and the Caribbean will grow by 5.7%; certainly just “a bit” of an increase over the 4.3% estimated at the outset of 2010. The report mentions that the region is growing at a faster pace than expected due to solid macroeconomic policies, consolidated and stable policy support, favorable external financial conditions and strong commodity revenues. An additionally interesting observation is that Mercosur (a trade federation founded in 1991 comprising countries of southern South America – Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina) has emerged as the GDP growth champion so far this year. All those members are expected to enjoy growth rates exceeding 7%. Argentina and Brazil are estimated to experience rates of 7.5%, Uruguay should have 8.5% and Paraguay (the perennially overlooked southern sibling) is pegged to experience a 9% growth rate. These numbers place the Mercosur countries among the top five in the entire region! And, as you may have surmised, Paraguay may well be the region’s economic growth champion by year end. The strong growth in the region is attributable to strong domestic demand (so much so that some global economists are worried that it will lead to economic overheating in some countries), a powerful and stable increase in investment (mostly domestically derived funds and capital returning to the local markets after being invested overseas for a number of years) and healthy exports driven by Chinese and Asian demand and by the demand derived from the slow but steady recovery of the U.S. economy. More >
Uptick in Auction Sales Should Continue Through 2011
Oct 29th
Over the past 60 days, NAI Global’s alliance partner for outcry auctions, Higgenbotham Auctioneers, has sold more than 90 properties at auction in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Delaware and throughout a number of Midwest states. In addition, they have scores of upcoming auctions scheduled before year end in Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, South Carolina, and Georgia. More >
Acquisitions – Confirming the Rent Roll
Oct 28th
It is hard to say which single document is the most essential to review when purchasing an income property. However, as the prime source of property revenue, the rent roll is clearly one of the most critical. More >
Are Commercial Real Estate Brokers Reinventing Themselves?
Oct 28th
As we all know times have been tough and brokerage companies around the world have made cuts in staff, salaries and closed offices as circumstances have dictated. As far as investment transactions were concerned, the brokers interviewed by Property EU stated that €52 billion of investment transactions was generated – a 38% decline from the previous year. The previous year saw a decline of 60%. CBRE noted a decline of 5% year on year with Catella and Colliers – 82% and 78% respectively. More >
A Market Segmentation is Essential to the Success of a Retailer!
Oct 27th
An accurate understanding of the market area where a new retail location will be based is key to the success of the venture. Traditionally retailers would collect a core set of demographic variables as criteria for understanding a particular market or site. The key variables are: income, age, population, traffic counts and depending on the market area ethnicity. Retailers set minimum thresholds for each variable in order to filter through potential opportunities. In fact, a number of retailers and developers still use this approach today to validate markets. More >
