LEASED ANOTHER ONE! 999 Cattlemen Road.

This one was a double header: I sold this unit at 999 Cattlemen Road (Unit A) week prior to an investor and put a new tenant in the space on Friday for three years. Congratulations to Dance Artistry, Inc. on their new 2,280SF home. They look to be open on approximately July 1, so feel free to pay them a visit. The location is perfect for them - lots of glass and an endcap unit. Thank you!

LEASED ANOTHER ONE! 8,600SF.

Many congratulations to the new tenants at 5745 and 5755 N Washington Boulevard. I leased out this 8,600SF building to two tenants within a week. Save Our Homes, LLC took the right side (approximately 3,500 sf) and Coastal Granite took the remaining space.

Latest Office Vacancy Report, Sarasota County

The numbers are in for December. Downtown vacancy edged up, University Parkway vacancy is down and the rest appear stagnant. Overall vacancy is 19.15%.

Herewith the numbers:

Downtown Sarasota: 13.74% +
University Parkway Area: 18.22% -
I-75 Fruitville South to Clark: 21.27% (N/C)
Venice: 22.03% (N/C)
North Port: 37.28% (N/C)
Suburban & South Trail: 27.84% (N/C)

Source: Sarasota EDC

5203 Cortez Road - Finally 100% Leased!

Another one in the books! Leased the very last unit in Scott Paint plaza at 5203 Cortez Rd yesterday. 1,150 SF goes to Budget Signs for 6 years. Congrats, guys. Glad I was able to help. Enjoy your new home!

FYI, this center had 4,600SF+ vacant when I took over leasing duties in November. Good to end the year on such a positive note.

Great marketing = great results. :)

Leased! Leased! Leased! Leased!

Two units leased since December 1 in this strip mall next door to Wal-Mart on Cortez Rd. I have one 1,150sf unit left and that one looks like it might be spoken for. Welcome to Allison's Dance Centre and Purple Coconut Hair Salon. Allison's took 2,250sf for 3 years and Purple Coconut took 1,200sf for 2 years. Out of my approx. 40 listings, this property has been the most active.

Latest Office Vacancy Report (November)

The numbers are in for 11/09. They are as follows**:

Downtown Sarasota: 13.74% (+)
University Parkway: 18.22% (-)
I-75 Fruitville S to Clark: 21.27% (n/c)
Venice: 22.03% (n/c)
North Port: 37.28% (n/c)
Suburban & South Trail: 27.84%

** = does not include sublet space.

Leased Another One! John Deere.

Moline, Ill-based JOHN DEERE, INC. (NYSE: DE) has leased 10,000SF of office and warehouse space for its landscape division at 1360 12th Street in Palmetto from HDVN, LLC. Deere, a $28-billion (worldwide sales) company, is ranked 102 in the Fortune 500, and leased the space for 3 years with options. Anthony V. Migliore of Coldwell Banker Commercial represented the tenant. The landlord was self-represented.

Is The Bottom Near? Forecast Says So.

Tough to say.

I'm of the belief that rents in certain areas of town cannot go much lower at this point. I have a few properties where, after the pass-through expenses are stripped out of the gross rental figure, the owner is maybe taking in $0.50 a foot or even less at the end of the day. Doesn't leave much room for error. And even with these record low rents, tenants are tough to come by. In some of these cases, theoretically, the property is probably worth more vacant than with a credit tenant in place. Sad but true.

Pricing anything is very difficult due to a lack of reliable comps. I get some ridiculous "drive-by" sign calls from people offering $20/ft for halfway decent downtown property. Can't blame 'em for trying, I guess!

Emerging Trends: "The Bottom is Near!" Predict CRE Forecasters
Most Market Forecasters See a Pricing Bottom Next Year, and at Least One Prognosticator Suggests that Transaction Pricing for Institutional Investment-Quality Real Estate May Have Already Bottomed in the Third Quarter

By Randyl Drummer

November 4, 2009

Having reviewed the next round of commercial real estate surveys, forecasts and emerging trends issued this past week for 2010, about the only good news appears to be that the market has hit bottom -- or will soon. Rents and values have continued to fall across virtually every commercial real estate sector and across almost every market.

However, forecasters see the prospect for near-term opportunity once the markets bottom out, bringing a long-expected deluge of loan workouts, write downs, defaults and foreclosures -- along with the time-tested rush by patient, cash-rich investors, who, with some fortunate timing, will be able to tap some very attractive buying opportunities at bottom-of-the-cycle prices.

Also, leasing activity is expected to increase as tenants seek to take advantage of sharply lowered rents, resulting in more potential commissions for brokers, but also likely resulting in more pressure on highly leveraged building owners.

At least five major surveys and forecasts have been released since late last week by such influential industry groups as Real Estate Roundtable, the MIT Center for Real Estate, the National Multi Housing Council and NAIOP. PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute released one of the industry's most widely watched surveys, the annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate, on Thursday morning.

The surveys tend to confirm the 2010 projections made last month by CoStar and its newly acquired analytics and forecasting advisory firm, Property Portfolio and Research Inc. (PPR), which were among the first forecasts to be released. The office vacancy rate stood at 13% at the end of the third quarter, and CoStar forecasts several more quarters of negative absorption and another 300-basis-point increase in the vacancy rate to 16% as the office market trails what's shaping up to be a "jobless recovery." Strong demand for office space is not expected to return until 2011-12, but when it does recovery should be robust, with the national office vacancy rate expected to fall to 10.5% by 2014 if job numbers begin to pick up as expected, according to CoStar and PPR projections.

Looking ahead, CoStar forecasts that the national industrial vacancy rate will rise from 10.2% in the third quarter to as high at 11% next year, but the amount of negative net absorption -- which approached nearly 150 million square feet year to date through the end of the third quarter -- should taper off over the next couple of quarters. The industrial market will slowly resume leasing activity starting in mid-2010, generating reasonably strong positive quarterly absorption through 2013. Rents, however, likely will remain moribund for two or three more years.

Coming off an idle 2009, the next year will likely rank as the slowest year of the modern era for new development, according to projections covering US market conditions presented by CoStar in a series of webinars last month.

A record 900 people participated in this year's Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2010 survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers and ULI. The results won't do much to either comfort the pessimists or encourage the optimists.

Across the board, investor sentiment was at or near record lows. Survey respondents predicted that vacancies will rise and rents will fall in all property types before the market hits bottom next year. Only apartments rated as a "fair" prospect, with all others sinking into the fair to poor range, with respondents especially bearish on retail and hotels. Development prospects ranged from "dead" and "abysmal" to "modestly poor."

"Not surprisingly, the overwhelming sentiment of Emerging Trends interviewees remains decidedly negative, colored by impending doom and distress over prospects for an extended period of anemic demand and costly deleveraging," the report said.

On the other hand, value declines of 40% to 50% off 2007 peaks will present once-in-a-generation opportunities, respondents said. "A sense of nervous euphoria is growing among liquid investors who can make all-cash purchases” from distressed sellers and banks, said ULI Senior Resident Fellow for Real Estate Finance Stephen Blank.

Debt markets will begin to recover, but loans will be conservative, expensive, and extended only to a lender's best customers. REITs and private equity funds will get into the action, providing loans to battered borrowers at a steep price.

The survey finds near-record lows in investment sentiment in every property type. Only apartments registered fair prospects with all other categories sinking into the fair to poor range. Hotel and retail record the most precipitous falls. Development prospects are “largely dead” and drop to new depths and practically to “abysmal” levels for office, retail and hotels. Warehouse and apartments scored only marginally better at “modestly poor.”

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE

Leased Another One!

I leased this office in Lakewood Ranch to an accountant in a short three weeks after I took the listing. The price was great and the tenant loved the space. It came fully furnished with desks, chairs and even a kitchen sink...the tenant is here for three years. Congratulations to the tenant: Cozzette Accounting Co., LLC! No outside broker was involved with the deal.

Leased Another One, #3 out of 3 for the Week!

We would like to welcome national tenant Kumon Learning Centers to their new home at Tourist Center Drive in University Park. Kumon signed a 5 year deal last Wednesday for their new home. Kumon, based out of Teaneck, NJ is actually expanding in this market. They have over 1,500 locations in 44 countries. I appreciate the business, guys. Thank you!

Leased Another One, #2 out of 3 for the Week!

We want to welcome Dish Network and DirecTV affiliates Rising Star Communications to their new home at 2436 Stickney Point Rd in Sarasota. This lease wraps up this strip center for me seeing that it's now 100% leased. I took this over from another agent in the spring where several spaces had been vacant for a very long time. I gave the landlord an analysis of what needed to be done to make the center more attractive to tenants and we were able to lease the center up with a little bit of effort and some creative marketing. Glad to be able to help. Again, motivated landlord + motivated tenant means another leased space! This is lease #3 for the week!

No recession here. No way!

Leased Another One

We want to welcome Starr Title Insurance to their new home at 100 Wallace Avenue, Suite 250. Starr has signed a 3 year lease with the landlord. We wish them all the best. The location is excellent, almost directly across the street from the Sarasota courthouse.

Took a little less than six months to find a tenant. Not bad, considering the climate. Aggressive marketing + motivated landlord + motivated tenant = another deal in an ailing economy!

More Bad News

Yeah, yeah...we know, we know.

Leased Another One - 6,400 SF to National Tenant

Boulder, CO-based Camp Bow Wow (CBW) finally moved into their new digs: a 6,400 sf air-conditioned ILW-zoned property fronting 17th Street. ILW was the only favorable zoning that could accept a dog-daycare facility without a special exception.

CBW sunk nearly $150,000 worth of capital improvements into the landlord's building. We wish them and the landlord all the best! I was glad to help them.

Local Company Absorbs 50,000 Square Feet

See? All's not totally dead around here. There are at least some bright spots here and there.

Firm rents more warehouse space on McIntosh Road

By Michael Braga

Published: Monday, August 17, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.

In the midst of the toughest market conditions that anyone can remember, the Meridian Development Group has pulled off a coup.

The Clearwater company, which owns and manages a giant, 910,000-square-foot warehouse complex on McIntosh road in Sarasota County, has convinced a local bandage manufacturer to sign up for 50,000 square feet.

ASO Corp., the subsidiary of a Japanese corporation that has made adhesive bandages and other wound care products in Florida for 25 years, is one of those rare companies with the ability to expand in the middle of a recession.

"This is an expansion," said Steven Kossoff, Meridian's managing director. "In Sarasota, there were only two facilities that were large enough to meet their needs."

ASO's choice came down to price and amenities, Kossoff said.

"We have a fully fenced facility with 24-hour guard service and high ceilings that allow for more stacking," Kossoff said.

When pressed for details about price, Kossoff would only say that the lease rate was lower than the $5.50 per square foot the company had been asking in the past.

"It was lower than we've historically seen, but it was not too terrible," Kossoff said, especially in market conditions in which warehouse owners are getting clobbered.

Calls to ASO's headquarters in the Sarasota International Trade Center were not returned.

LINK TO ARTICLE

Leased Another One

Congrats are due to Jobs, Etc for taking on 3,500sf of space at 5755 N Washington for their summer vocational and training program. The building just happened to be a perfect fit. I still have another 4,000 or so feet left in this building. Just goes to show that multifaceted marketing and having an aggressive landlord will do wonders in this kind of market. Judging by the number or properties I'm showing as of late, leasing activity is not totally dead.

How bad is it? Just look.

I recently conducted a ride-along interview...the subject was industrial vacancy. Good commercial brokers should always know what kind of inventory is available in their market and, even though I'm still fairly young and have a pretty good memory, even I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of buildings for sale or lease. The interview below was conducted in an approximate one mile radius of the Whitfield/US301 intersection. Expand this area to the entire Manatee/Sarasota MSA and you can imagine it's nearly impossible to remember every single available building and price. A good portion of this inventory isn't even online anywhere.

Selling or leasing industrial property is truly a huge challenge for all agents and owners. This video underscores those challenges.

Leased Another One

Just wanted to welcome PEN Produce to their new home at 2065 12th St in Sarasota. PEN is run by a great guy named Pete Greci and he'll be running a small farmer's market on the weekends to supplement his produce distribution business. PEN leased 4,800 square feet for 3 years. Welcome, guys and thanks for the business!

Commercial Real Estate: "Ticking Time Bomb"

A few videos I ran across this week underscoring the current stress going on in the commercial real estate market.

Office Tenants in Driver's Seat

Office Tenants Now in the Driver's Seat

Jun 26, 2009
By: Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

Even before the financial meltdown last fall, most U.S. office markets were going noticeably soft. In particular, vacancies were rising as businesses downsized, reorganized or otherwise felt skittish about committing to any new use of office space. Now that the worst recession in at least a generation is under way, what was once only a worrisome trend for U.S. office landlords is full-blown reality.

Few dispute that current conditions in almost every office market could be called a “tenants' market.” Tenants have the edge now, provided they themselves aren't beaten up so badly by the economy that they can't take advantage of that fact.

Though each major metro market has its own distinct features, the overall numbers are telling. According to Reis Inc., the overall U.S. office vacancy rate climbed to 15.2 percent by the end of the first quarter of 2009, compared to 14.5 percent at year's end 2008 and 12.8 percent during 1Q08. Office-space users vacated nearly 25 million square feet during 1Q09, moving in tandem with the spike in the U.S. unemployment rate during that period. People go, then the space goes, and people are still going.

Moreover, since commercial real estate tends to be a lagging indicator, even if the economy starts to grow again later this year--something of a tall assumption--office landlords might not feel the benefit for quite a while longer than that.

In some ways, this office downturn is like previous ones, Bill Lichwala, president and CEO of Plante Moran Cresa told CPN. “Financially solid tenants are now able to negotiate with a lot of strength,” he said. “At first, landlords resisted lowering rents, and offered more concessions, because lower rents affect the building valuation a lot more.”

But now rents are going down. According to Reis, office rents were an average of 3.2 percent lower in the first quarter of 2009 than a year earlier.

“Landlords simply can't compete anymore without competing on rents,” said Lichwala, whose Southfield, Mich.-based firm specializes in tenant rep. “They can only offer so much in the way of incentives, and that's reached its limit.”

Lichwala pointed out that in one way, however, this office market isn't like previous slumps in space usage. “Previously, landlords needed to be sure that a tenant was creditworthy before a deal would be inked,” he said. “That's normal due diligence, and it hasn't changed. But now tenants need to be as sure of the solvency of the landlords as much as the other way around. It isn't any good to negotiate a sweet concession package if the landlord goes into receivership and can't afford it.”

LINK