Archive for April, 2011
Rents to Rise by End of 2011
Apr 26th
The latest Cushman & Wakefield’s MarketView report delivered good news for the commercial real estate industry. According to this report, rents for all property types will rise by the end of 2011.
The report states that many of the U.S. CBD markets will see rising asking rents. Large, “24-hour” cities such as Chicago, Washington D.C., Dallas, New York, Miami and San Francisco are already experiencing rising rents. The stronger secondary markets will experience it next.
The Lincoln market remained fairly stable in regards to asking rates over the past few years. To attract new tenants, landlords were competitive by offering free rent and higher tenant improvement allowances versus dropping their asking rent.
(Source: rejournals.com)
SBA Ready to Help Expiring Loans
Apr 21st
Commercial real estate mortgages that are maturing by the end of 2012 can now turn to the U.S. Small Business Administration for help to refinance the loan. SBA is accepting refinance applications for long-term, fixed-rated loans under the SBA 504 program. Loans under this program can be for up to 40 percent of the appraised property value. Applicants must provide at least 10 percent down and the balance must come from another source of funds such as a community development corporation.
For more information, check out www.sba.gov. (Source: REALTOR magazine)
Big Box is Going Small
Apr 20th
Big box chain stores are thinking small.
Wal-Mart is testing out “neighborhood markets” that focus on food and pharmacy items so that customers can get in and out faster. A typical Super Wal-Mart is roughly 200,000 square feet and need large tracts of land. These smaller stores in the range of 30,000-40,000 square feet will allow Wal-Mart to infill into neighborhood areas and possibly take advantage of vacant retail boxes left in the wake of many nationals going bankrupt during the recession.
One test market is Wichita, KS and its rumored to be getting 2-3 such prototypes.
U.S. Poised for Surge in Economy
Apr 14th
Dr. Peter Linneman, NAI Global’s Chief Economist and Principal for Linneman Associates, stated in his quarterly economic outlook seminar yesterday that the dynamics are in place to see a surge in the US economy. He sighted a number of positive signs that conditions have stabilized and that will help create a surge by year’s end:
- 1,000,000 jobs were created
- Retail sales are up
- Pent-up demand for new households
- Corporate profits are at all-time highs though very few are distributing it in the form of dividend payments, stock buy-outs, etc.
- Households and businesses that were very leveraged by 2007 have now decreased their debt to show improved finances and balance sheets
Job growth is key. As jobs are created, new households form, consumer confidence rebounds, corporate profits go up and the economy stabilizies. The momentum building so far points to a hopeful outlook for 2011.
To participate in the next Global Economic Outlook web conference with Dr. Linneman, mark July 13, 1-2 pm EDT in your calendar.
