Blog

The surge in the construction-loan delinquency rate – both residential and commercial – suggests that lenders will remain reluctant to make loans for new construction. Developers usually finance projects through short-term construction loans.  Once the project has stabilized, the developer seeks long-term debt.  With the current economic downturn, developers are finding it difficult to obtain […]

Buildings four stories and higher use 65 percent of electricity generated in the United States, according to a recent article on the website http://www.tmcnet.com/. Several states – notably California – are requiring all new government buildings to qualify for green certification.  Additionally, California is looking at the possibility of granting preferences to private building owners […]

One of the biggest issues we’ve faced is the stability of the capital markets, which are slow but showing some signs of life.  You have to look closely, but there are some positive signs.  At the end of March, two office properties sold for more than $500,000,000 each.  These included the UBS Tower in Chicago, […]

Have you noticed that some of your favorite stores are disappearing?  Tough economic times have made people rethink their discretionary spending, and that is impacting specialty retailers.  According to a study by Commercial Property News and Claritas, a CPN-sister company specializing in retail-related demographic and marketing research, retailers are rethinking their 2008 growth plans. The Standard […]

Buildings as old as 100 years now can attain coveted LEED certification, courtesy of the innovative LEED Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) program.  According to an article in the April, 2008, issue of Midwest Real Estate News, green design has become a given in commercial construction.  Now, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has extended the […]

You know what they say about polls.  Still, a recent one is an interesting temperature reading for the new economy.   Overseas investors in United States real estate prefer retail versus office or industrial space right now, according to an issue of Commercial Property News. This is just one conclusion in a survey that examined […]

According to market research from Colliers Dickinson, Jacksonville’s industrial market is thriving, thanks to its first-rate transportation infrastructure — consisting of the JAXPORT deep-water port, an international airport, three railways, three interstates and several major highways.  Industrial vacancy rates are the lowest they’ve been in five years, rents and property values are soaring.  With the […]

According to the April 1, 2008, issue of Commercial Property News, there are five prime reasons why developers should continue building condominiums and apartments.  Why is this happening in the multi-family market considering the fast pace of single-family home foreclosures? Strong echo and baby boomer demand – 7 million echo boomers are starting their careers and […]

On NAIOP member Jack Schultz’s list of Top 10 Development Trends for 2008, one really stands out. Following Kalamazoo, MI; Newton, IA; and El Dorado, AZ, have promised to pay for the college education of anyone who completes grade and high schools.  In light of of the economic flux that we are currently in, this seems like a […]

As an avid follower of presidential politics since the age of six, this year’s protracted primary process has been interesting.  The talking heads’ endless dissection of every policy statement; speculation as to which of the all-powerful super-delegates will back whom; the endless round of debates; the questions of who made the best impression.  One of […]