Retail News Blog

Woe is the market analyst who shoots from the hip. There is too much opportunity and rationale these days, or for that matter, at any time, for closer examination of the data, analysis, and conclusions set forth by appraisers reporting the decision-making processes of participants in the real estate market.
Who among us has not been [...]

The medical office market is a subsector of the larger general office market. The current identity crisis of the real estate industry and general instability of the economy are creating the need to separately analyze the medical office subsector, as the supply/demand conditions impacting this asset class is vastly different than the overall office market. The following is an industry overview for medical office space in Oregon marketplace. Key supply/demand indicators are summarized in the following table.

Arriving at a decision on the best strategy for how to successfully navigate the commercial real estate market during these challenging economic times is vexing to many an investor. Do I, or don’t I??? That is the conundrum facing most commercial real estate investors in today’s market. Do I, or don’t I liquidate my portfolio (or at least my non-performing assets)? Do I, or don’t I stand on the sidelines and wait-out these turbulent times? Do I, or don’t’ I get aggressive and take advantage of the decline in property values and the spike in acquisition cap rates? In the text that follows I’ll put forth counsel based not upon the emotions of the times, but rather the forthcoming advice is based upon my years of experience in successfully advising clients in both advancing and declining commercial real estate markets.

According to the most recent Real Capital Analytics® Quarterly Retail Report the national retail asset sales volume at $1.9 billion (1st Quarter 2009) is down more than 74% from the same quarter one year ago. The only regional mall sale transaction in 2009 year-to-date (YTD) on a national level was the Cincinnati Mall which traded [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Capitalization Rate Analysis
In this article, a capitalization rate for a strip center is analyzed based on (1) market extraction; (2) national survey; and (3) debt coverage/equity dividend analysis. This is an in-depth analysis that shows how a capitalization rate can be derived when little data is available in a market area. This presentation is an [...]

Many auto dealerships are going dark; over 21 in 2008 according to The Oregonian. In 2009 in the Portland Metro area alone we have seen some big names fall to darkness, most notably the Kuni Cadillac dealership that was located in Beaverton. For an auto dealership, the trade area expands beyond the immediate market area. [...]

Way back in November 1996, Oregon voters passed Measure 47. This was a constitutional amendment popularly referred to as the “cut and cap” tax reform act. The “cut” aspect of the legislation referred to a reduction in taxes for the 1997-98 tax year calculated as the lesser of the 1994-95 taxes or 90 percent of the 1995-96 taxes. Bonded debt would be exempt from the calculations. The “cap” aspect of the measure restricted growth in taxes to no greater than 3 percent annually after the 1997-98 tax year.

With unemployment rates soaring — it’s time to take a deeper look into recent job layoffs. I scoured the press releases from the past few months and while this list may not show all of the recent layoffs, it is the result of a comprehensive search. The most upsetting part about the list is that [...]