| wsletter Subtitle |
Month Yar | |
Uncertainty Weighs Heavily Over Fourth Quarter Outlook
Mark Heschmeyer, CoStar Group
9/29/2010
Typically by October, the commercial real estate industry can see its way clearly through the end of the year, with a pretty good idea of what can be accomplished and how the rest of the year will play out. But these are not usual times. The loads of uncertainty and constantly shifting market conditions that characterize this fourth quarter are making it very difficult to muster any certainty over what the coming months will bring. Just a few weeks ago, the markets were abuzz with the specter of a double-dip recession. But those worries have largely subsided and replaced by signs that the capital markets may finally be loosening up. Then there are the upcoming politically charged elections and the prospects of a shift in the regulatory and legislative environments. Meanwhile, there is an "astonishing, almost stupid" amount of money sitting around waiting to pick up deals. But sellers don't want to put bargain prices on their properties, according to one real estate consultant. |
REITs Rallied in Third Period
A.D. Pruitt, The Wall Street Journal
Real-estate stocks posted strong gains in the third quarter, due in part to growing perceptions that property will be a hedge against inflation.
The Dow Jones All Equity REIT index, which tracks 155 real-estate investment trusts, rose 13% during the third quarter, a sharp turnaround from the second quarter when REITs posted a 5% decline. The gain in REITs slightly exceeded that on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which rose roughly 10.37%. In third quarter, all types of REITs posted robust gains. The biggest bright spots were retail REITs, which own shopping malls and other retail space, up 15%, and apartment REITs, which gained 14%. Despite weak consumer spending and slow growth, regional malls and strip centers benefited from expansion by affordable apparel and goods stores like Forever 21, Target and Costco. |
Signs of Recovery For Office Market
Anton Trioanovski, The Wall Street Journal
10/5/2010
In a sign that the country's commercial real-estate market is finally turning the corner, new statistics show that office rents that have been falling throughout the economic downturn are beginning to stabilize. Commercial real estate, an enormous sector with some $1.4 trillion of debt coming due by the end of 2014, has been closely watched by regulators and financial companies because it could act as an anchor on the economy as it struggles to recover. The pressure on rents now seems to be easing. Average effective rents-taking into account concessions such as a few months of free rent-for some 4 billion square feet of office space tracked by research firm Reis Inc. fell by just a penny in the last three months, the smallest quarterly decline since 2008. At $22.05 per square foot per year, effective rents are 12% below the 2008 high of $25.07. In some cities, the improvement has been much better. Washington, D.C., remains the nation's healthiest office market, with a vacancy rate of 9.8%. |
|
The Fastest-Growing Cities In The U.S.
Joel Kotkin, Forbes.com
10/11/2010
The U.S.' emerging cities are not experiencing the kind of super-charged growth one sees in urban areas of the developing world, notably China and India. But unlike Europe, North America's population is slated to expand by well over 100 million people by 2050--much of this growth in the U.S. and much of it driven by continued immigration.
In the course of the next 40 years, the biggest gainers won't be behemoths like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, but less populous, easier-to-manage cities that are both affordable and economically vibrant.
Read More: http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/the-fastest-growing-cities-in-the-us.html
|
Bank Credit Freeze Shows Signs of Thawing
Mark Heschmeyer, CoStar Group
10/27/2010
Maybe it is time we start taking bankers at their word that commercial real estate wasn't and isn't a catastrophe waiting to happen. Maybe, just maybe, as they've been telling us for the last four consecutive quarters, there are serious risks but they are manageable and are being dealt with and disposed of. Why, now?
|
|
