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Real Estate News
Read some of the latest news from the Commercial Real Estate Industry
CRE Sales Surge In 2012 As Pricing Recovery Spreads To More Markets
February 2013 -- (CoStar) - Aided By Improved Liquidity and Buoyed By Improving Conditions, Investors Move Into Other Property Types and Into More Markets Driven by Multifamily Gains
Sales of U.S. commercial real estate reached nearly $64 billion in 2012, jumping 22% from the previous year to the highest annual total since 2004, according to the latest findings from the CoStar Commercial Repeat Sale Indices (CCRSI). Although the increase in sales volume reflects the subset of sale-pairs included in the CCRSI analysis and not the commercial real estate market at large, it does indicate the positive growth in the overall sales volume trend.
The analysis of sales data through December caps a year in which the recovery in CRE pricing rippled beyond the apartment market into office, industrial and even retail property, to a greater or lesser extent. Meanwhile, the level of distressed property sales fell to just 11.5% of transactions noted in December 2012, the lowest level since the end of 2008, which also helped put a solid foundation under prices.
12 CRE Predictions for 2013
January 2013 -- (CoStar) - The last few weeks of 2012 revealed a lot about what 2013 could hold in store for the commercial real estate sector, and it appears to be shaping up to look a lot different (i.e., better) than the last couple of years.
Deal flow increased notably after the presidential election as the uncertainty ended over what policies would shape the U.S. economy for the next four years and as the housing market recovery seemed to take hold.
Also, the fiscal cliff proved to be a political hallucination - a compelling hallucination, but a cliff that nevertheless that could be pushed off in time rather than us being pushed over the ledge.
So, with the prospect of another Washington-induced recession seeming more imaginary than authentic, it also appears that 2013 will be a year when the CRE markets see a return to more normalcy.
Following are a dozen outlooks for 2013 encapsulated from forecasts offered by respected industry participants and observers...
How the fiscal cliff could hurt Florida
December 2012 -- (South Fla. Bus. Journal) - Florida’s consumer confidence remained unchanged in December, but a University of Florida economist warns how that could change if the nation goes over the fiscal cliff.
“Most economists believe that without the fiscal cliff the economy is on a solid path to recovery,” said Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. But, the recovery will be jeopardized if Congress allows scheduled tax increases and spending cuts to occur...
Survey of Emerging Market Conditions - Q3 2012
November 2012 -- (Bergstrom Center) - Optimism in Florida’s real estate markets continued to improve in the third quarter. UF’s Commercial Real Estate Sentiment Index, an outlook on our respondents’ own businesses, increased for this quarter, while the investment outlook for Florida real estate improved to a new survey high.
Despite the optimism, however, there is still a cloud of uncertainty in the market place over the coming election and the effects of the fiscal cliff. These issues seemed to temper respondents’ outlook for property fundamentals which declined slightly in occupancy and rental rates across most property types.
Adding to the mixed outlook this quarter is the differences in the unemployment picture and consumer confidence. After a near continuous decline for several years, Florida’s unemployment rate has leveled off at 8.7% in September, which is a 0.1% increase from the June number. In spite of that, consumer confidence in Florida reached its highest level in September since June 2007 according to the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research...
UCF economist: Expect a long pull out of 'economic ennui'
October 2012 -- (Tampa Bay Times) - University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith won't wager whom he expects to win the presidential election.
But he's willing to bet that regardless of the outcome, there won't be a sudden surge in hiring and consumer spending.
"President Obama would keep us on the same policy path we have followed during the past four years and hope that the economy will change, while Gov. Romney would change the president's key policies on health care and financial regulation with the hope it would end our economic ennui..."
His crystal ball: Expect little movement in many parts of the economy throughout 2013-14 and don't look for the nation's employment rate (currently 7.8 percent) to dip below 7 percent until 2015. Plus, he notes, the probability the country will fall back into recession next year has increased over the last quarter to nearly 20 percent of forecasters surveyed...
Florida household income fell 2.9 percent in 2011, signaling recovery remains longer-term struggle
September 2012 -- (Tampa Bay Times) - The income of the typical Florida family dropped 2.9 percent last year, one of the sharpest reminders that the deflated state economy remains marked by high unemployment, lower-wage jobs and financially challenged to spend its way out of its problems.
That decline in Florida's media household income appears in Census Bureau data scheduled for release today and reported here by the Wall Street Journal. Florida is one of 18 states to see its median household income -- the amount at which half the state households make more and half make less -- decline in 2011 from the previous year.
Nationally, median income fell by 1.3 percent to $50,502 in 2011. Florida's median household income is lower and fell faster than the country's as a whole. It is the latest, significant signal that the Florida economic rebound remains on a slower, less competitive track...
Report: Small-business confidence drops
September 2012 -- (So. Fla. Bus. Journal) - Small-business owners are less optimistic about their own shops and the overall economy than they were six months ago, according to a survey of National Small Business Association members. According to the survey, the number of small-business owners who are not confident about the future of their own business jumped to 40 percent today from 25 percent six months ago – the largest increase in nearly five years...
The Impending Florida Retail Boom
September 2012 -- (GlobeSt.com) - Florida is leading the nation in a retail recovery. Miami is particularly strong for retailers. But we ain't seen nothing yet. Indeed, if that’s true now — and if retail truly does follow rooftops — imagine what will happen as the next wave of multifamily and condo development comes online over the next few years...
Who Really Changes The Economy?
August 2012 -- (WFIT) - With Election Day drawing closer, each presidential candidate is pushing harder to make the case that he would be a better leader for the economy.
And voters are listening to the pitches. A recent Washington Post-ABC poll showed that nearly 3 in 4 Americans say the candidate's approach to the economy will be a "major factor" in deciding between President Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney.
But a clear-eyed look at past campaigns shows that presidential leadership is just one of many threads that can weave together a strong economy. Other factors — such as technological innovations, new business practices, shifts in other countries' politics, social changes and so much more — may shape the economy more than any president.
Consider this example: If you had to pick one figure from the 1970s whose ideas are having a major impact on your daily life today, would you pick President Jimmy Carter — or Apple co-founder Steve Jobs? While presidential politics can get lots of attention from journalists, the factors that really end up reshaping our work lives may not get recognition until many years or even decades later...
2012 A Repeat of 2011? Not Exactly. KPMG Survey Finds It's a Bit Worse
August 2012 -- (CoStar) - Nearly two out of three commercial real estate executives surveyed by KPMG pushed back their expectations for a full U.S. economic recovery until 2014 or later. Survey respondents said the CRE market continues to make strides in the right direction despite a lackluster economy. However, a slower than expected rate of growth and pricing pressures will likely result in more firms seeking to increase efficiencies and reduce costs over the next year...
Deja Vu All Over Again? CRE Whipsaws Up and Down In Face of Economic Uncertainty
August 2012 -- (CoStar) - Similarly to A Year Ago, Conflicted Sentiments Rule The Day As Stretch Run For 2012 Presidential Election Draws Nearer.
This time last year, the CRE industry was mired in a summer funk, buzzing over the potential negative effects of the European debt crisis, the U.S. debt crisis and slower-than-expected economic growth following a series of strong year-end indicators suggesting that property demand growth would pick up speed through the beginning of the year.
The latest crop of national investors surveys and leading indicators released over the last few days shows that same confused sentiment has returned, less than three months ahead of another historic U.S. presidential election. Sifting through current and leading indicators and sentiment survey finds a similarly murky picture of conditions in U.S. commercial real estate property markets and capital conditions...
Wells Fargo survey finds small business owners turn pessimistic
August 2012 -- (Orl. Business Journal) - Wells Fargo said Tuesday that its quarterly survey of small business owners turned down for the first time this year, erasing most of the gains achieved earlier this year. The survey findings reinforce a growing sense that things are not well on Main Street...
Economic Uncertainty is #1 Concern for Small Business
July 2012 -- (FL Chamber) - Florida's small businesses are essential to the recovery of the state's economy. Small businesses now account for three-quarters of all new jobs in this country, and these business owners embody the spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship and individual initiative... For the third consecutive quarter, access to capital and economic uncertainty continue to rank as major obstacles preventing small business growth...
