Retail News Blog

The Portland Metro Area (PMA) apartment market was experiencing low vacancy trends (5% and below in most areas) and increasing rental rates from 2005 through late 2008. Since that time; however, the rental market has seen steady decline in rental rates and increases in concessions and vacancy due to the national recession that has seen [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

“VALUATION TECHNIQUES FOR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AMIDST A WORLD OF CHANGE”
Introduction

There is broad sweeping change in the mindset of the World economy caused by the credit crisis, economic downturn and long-term uncertainty, which is having a profound impact on the real estate market. Our job as appraisers is to interpret what is occurring in the [...]

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. [...]

Thanks for popping in and checking out our real estate blog. We are just getting this project off the ground so be patient as the site evolves over the next several months. Our long-term goal is to provide a unique real estate experience where users participate in discussion topics, have access to a broad range [...]

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 [...]