Commercial Real Estate Frontline

What’s a Reverse Run on the Bank?

Late last year, my friend Chris called me to ask whether he should withdraw all of his deposits from his local bank. Chris was afraid that his bank might fail and he'd lose his savings. "This isn't 1929," I said. "Your deposits are insured and the government's taking action to shore up our lending institutions to protect your deposits and to keep our banks solvent."

When New England Based Investors See the Bottom

When the market changes, not everyone agrees with what's happening. If change is inevitable and everybody resists it, how do we know when the market will bottom? In the last post, you read about what 1,157 New England based commercial real estate owners and investors thought of the market. Today, you'll read about where they think it's going.

How New England Based Investors See the Market

Change is inevitable and everybody resists it. But what happens when the market changes and not everyone agrees with what's happening? We wanted to find out. So we ran a survey of over 1,157 New England based commercial real estate owners and investors to collect their thoughts on the commercial real estate market.

Office Vacancy in 128 North to Increase

Vacancy rates for office space in 128 north are increasing. According to CoStar research, vacancy rates dipped in 2006-2007 into the 13% range. They're now forecasting vacancy rates up to 16% as more space comes on the market with pending job layoffs. The vacancy rate has not increased more drastically because tenants have not started giving up space to their landlords as they hold out to see when the recession will end and to see whether they'll need space to rehire staff.

Boston Office Fast Update

According to CoStar Research: Boston has 2.3M SF in additional inventory in Q1 2009 Boston has 2.1M SF of negative net absorption by Q1 2009. Note: Tenants are trying to hold out for a more tenant friendly marketplace. Companies are struggling to understand their direction and are delaying on space decisions. They also don’t want to [...]

The ‘Must Know Method’ For Valuing Commercial Real Estate Today

The battlefield is quiet. Buyers have retreated and sellers have dug in. There's chatter in the trenches. "They'll come to us when they're ready," the sellers banter. "They can't hold out forever. Eventually they'll need a property and will come knocking on our doors for what we've got." They feel proud of what they own, but inside they're nervous because they know they can't hold on forever. The supplies are bound to run out.

Capitulation in Boston Commercial Real Estate?

"You've finally capitulated, haven't you?" joked my business partner. He and I laugh at the fact that he's a bear and I'm a bull. It works for us. And when either of us become too negative or positive on the market, we weigh the pros and cons. "Yep." I said. "Despite the fact that you know that I'm a bull and that I've been writing and advising of this correction for some time now, I really feel that I've experienced the shift today. There's no going back now."A lot of equity's going to be lost.

Don’t Commit Suicide Over Real Estate

It seems there’s been a rash of suicides and other violent acts in the news lately and a number of them have been connected to real estate. David Kellerman was found dead, from hanging, this morning in his basement. A couple of months ago Steve Good of Sheldon Good & Company was found dead (by [...]

5 Reasons You Must Consider a Sealed-Bid Convertible Sale if You Have to Sell Commercial Property in this Market

Time is everything right now. George Soros said last week of commercial property values “… we know, they will drop at least 30 percent.*” Some analysts predict a 50 percent or greater drop. How long this pain will last nobody knows but we do know we are still at the beginning. In a declining market [...]

Why Being Pound Wise and Not Penny Foolish May Pay Off

The stalemate is ending. We have just summitted a mountain of transactions and have been sliding down the other side, as represented in CoStar's chart showing national sales volumes for office properties.