Ask yourself this simple question:  What will the world look like for my children’s grandchildren?  This is not a question about politics or global warming. This is a question about the legacy we leave.
The real estate industry is responding quickly.  “Sustainability”, “LEED”, “carbon credits”, “cap and trade” are terms that are rapidly infiltrating our day [...]

How have the Capital markets affected lending for the manufactured home community industry?
The significant turmoil in the real estate capital markets has resulted in a considerable vacuum in financing opportunities for Manufactured Home Communities. Once a favorite of the now inactive CMBS/Conduit loan industry, the MHC asset class has become increasingly reliant on Fannie Mae, [...]

On April 15th, we posted an article that described some of the financial difficulties that Walgreens is experiencing, and how this company is retooling to ensure long-term sustainability given current economic conditions. The recent struggles with this company along with scarcity of loan dollars and decreased market demand for all triple net properties are causing [...]

Thank you for visiting our commercial real estate blog. The purpose of this blog is to share ideas and information about the industry that would otherwise not be immediately available to our readers. If you find the blog useful and informative, please share it with your peers, colleagues and clients. We are committed to expanding [...]

Recent events in the financial markets have led real estate investors to question the impact on the value of investment grade real estate. Uncertainty breeds risk and risk in real estate requires higher yields. This will lead to continued declines in values for the first quarter 2009. However, good quality industrial assets should fare well [...]

1) Tax Appeal – Do you feel you are paying too much in taxes? A viable option for some community owners in today’s market is a property tax appeal. With the help of PGP Valuation Incyou can take on the assessor’s office to bring the assessed value of community to where it should be, reducing [...]

By Greg Sukenik, Senior REIT Analyst, Zacks & Co.
Despite a slightly rally on April 6th, equity REITs posted a 32% decline in the 1st quarter (FTSE NAREIT Equity Index). In March, REITs we up about 4%.
Shopping center and Industrial REITs were the worst performing sectors, each declining about 41% in the quarter. Manufactured Housing was [...]

There were fewer sales in 2008 than seen in previous years. The reduced number of sales owes in some degree to the lack of credit available and the particular aversion to risk on behalf of lenders as well as investors in the current market. The uncertainty surrounding the ultimate fallout from the downturn in the [...]

Accurate valuation is enhanced by solid operating history. However, it is common to rely upon expense comparable data when valuing properties through direct capitalization. Understanding how operating expenses vary from region-to-region is key, especially for specialized lenders and investors looking to expand into other national markets. The table to the right is a sampling of [...]

A lot has changed in the past 12 months. A new president and a shift in the policies of Washington. The S&P fell 40% and then rebounded 25% in the last month. The Phillies win a world series; although the curse of the Billy Goat lives on in Chicago.
Unemployment has reached a level not seen [...]

Capitalization rates reflect the degree of risk associated with an investment. Net operating income divided by the capitalization rate equals value.
Beginning in 2008, and carrying over into 2009, market conditions have led to a noticeable increase in capitalization rates.  These trends are a function of increased risk perceived by investors and more stringent lending conditions [...]

Market Intelligently
Don’t Give it Away for Free
Leverage Zoning
Maximize Unit Efficiency
Image Is Everything
Put Your Best Face Forward
Track Your Performance
Know Your Neighbor
Utilize Security
Storage Income is not Everything

1.) Market Intelligently – Are you maximizing your marketing dollar?Are you thinking outside the box? A variety of marketing tools exist intoday’s self-storage industry. In addition to traditional media types such as [...]

How have the Capital markets affected lending for the self storage industry?
Like most other income property classes, with the exception of apartments, financing for self-storage properties has been hard hit with limited capital available in today’s market. Because of the management intensive nature of self-storage, lenders including banks and insurance companies who once were willing [...]

There have been fewer sales in 2008 than seen in previous years. The reduced number of sales owes in some degree to the lack of credit available and theparticular aversion to risk on behalf of lenders as well as investors in the current market. The uncertainty surrounding the ultimate fallout from the downturn inthe national [...]

Accurate valuation is enhanced by solid operating history. However, it iscommon to rely upon expense comparable data when valuing propertiesthrough direct capitalization. Understanding how operating expenses varyfrom region-to-region is key, especially for specialized lenders and investorslooking to expand into other national markets. The table to the right is asampling of over 200 expense comparables located [...]

(Info provided by Self-Storage SSA)
• At year-end 1984 there were 6,601 facilities with 289.7 million square feet of rentable self-storage in the U.S. At year-end 2008, there were 51,250 “primary” selfstoragefacilities representing 2.35 billion square feet. This represents an increase of more than 2.0 billion square feet.
• The top 5 self-storage companies, including the four [...]

As they say, timing and opportunity are everything!
James Murrett, MAI, SRA, an acknowledged expert in our field has joined PGP Valuation as the Director of Appraisal Standards. Jim has considered our firm to be a leading provider in the industry and has been intrigued by our service offerings, methodologies and overall standing. 
Jim [...]

Joe began his career with Anderson Consulting and BDO Seidman on the real estate side and also served as a director of marketing for Lee & Associates. He moved back over to the consulting world with a 7 year stint working for the major international brand strategy firm, Siegel & Gale. He ran their L.A. and Pacific Rim [...]

“I rarely have a conversation these days where the topic of financing doesn’t arise as a serious concern for my clients. When the economy is robust, and the capital markets are frothy, financing a commercial real estate transaction is a relatively simple matter. However during today’s recessionary times, the commercial capital markets are severely constrained. Not only is the supply of capital tight, but the demand may be near all time highs as well. Depending on which industry source you quote there is between $150 and $200 billion dollars of CMBS debt maturing in 2009 alone. This figure doesn’t include maturing loans from insurance companies, banks and other lenders, which means that many borrowers will be forced to secure financing in a market that presently offers little liquidity.” (”Getting your Property Financed” – Jackson Cooper, SVN – Boise, ID)

Walgreens is a national, retail drugstore chain that sells prescription and non-prescription drugs and general merchandise. General merchandise includes, among other things, beauty care, personal care, household items, candy, photofinishing, greeting cards, seasonal items and convenience food. Walgreens’ sales of pharmaceutical items account for approximately two-thirds of all sales.
Walgreens was founded in 1901, and as [...]

The tension was high at the special meeting called by the Colorado Banker’s Association in early December. The bankers were gathering to listen to Dr. Tom Hoenig, President of the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City, discuss the current recession and to get his predictions on how long it will last. With the reputation of [...]