Economy news – Page 2 – The Sundance Company

Commercial Real Estate Forecast: Vacancy, Rent Improvements

Falling vacancy rates and modest rent growth are predicted for each of the major commercial real estate sectors, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) quarterly commercial real estate forecast released last month.

NAR is forecasting commercial vacancy rates nationwide to decline 0.2 percentage points in the office sector and 0.6 points in both the industrial and retail sectors. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said the multifamily vacancy rate is not expected to change much as the sector will continue to have the tightest levels of availability.

“Office vacancies haven’t declined much because total jobs today are still below that of the pre-recession level in 2007, but rising international trade is boosting demand for warehouse space,” Yun said. “Consumer spending has been favorable for the retail market, and rising construction is keeping apartment availability fairly even, though at low vacancy levels.”

Lower vacancies are continuing to have an especially pronounced effect on the multifamily sector’s rental rates, according to Yun.

“That, in turn, is pushing apartment rents to rise twice as fast as broad consumer prices and average wage growth,” he said.

Average apartment rents will rise 4 percent in 2013 and another 4 percent next year, according to NAR’s forecast. However, NAR said that with new construction rising to meet increased demand in the multifamily sector, it will likely see vacancy rates edge up only a tenth of a percentage point, from 3.9 percent in the third quarter to 4.0 percent in the third quarter of 2014.

NAR is estimating that vacancy rates in the office sector are expected to decline from a projected 15.7 percent in the third quarter of 2013 to 15.5 percent in the third quarter of 2014. The industrial vacancy rates are projected to fall from 9.3 percent in the third quarter of this year to 8.7 percent in 2014. Retail vacancy rates are expected to decline from 10.6 percent in the third quarter of this year to 10 percent in the third quarter of 2014.

When it comes to rent growth in the other sectors, NAR expects office rent to increase 2.5 percent this year and 2.8 percent in 2014. Industrial rents are expected to grow by 2.4 percent this year and 2.6 percent in 2014, and retail rents are likely to increase 1.5 percent in 2013 and 2.3 percent in 2014.

Article courtesy of reit.com.

About The Sundance Company
Established in 1976, The Sundance Company has the experience to help you with your commercial real estate needs throughout the Boise Valley. If your requirements include property management, leasing, real estate development, project planning, construction or space planning then look to us. The Sundance Company has more than 1.5 million square feet of office and industrial space available in prime locations in the Boise metropolitan area. More information is available at www.sundanceco.com or 208.322.7300.

April 17, 2013February 21, 2013 sundancecompany business information, Economy news, The Sundance Company

10 Simple Ideas that Made Billions

April 3, 2013February 12, 2013 sundancecompany business information, commercial real estate, Commercial real estate news, Economy news, The Sundance Company, Uncategorized

Can A Company Use Instagram To Share Their Story and Build Their Business?

Instagram is a photo sharing service available as an easy to download application for any Android or iOS powered device. The photos captured can be shared on Facebook, Twitter and even Tumblr too. It is time for businesses to understand that this social sharing platform is here to stay. So how can a business use Instagram to share their story?

Build an Identity
Start snapping photos of your business. Once you’re ready to post your first image, you’ll be able to add a location if it is not already listed.

Try uploading photos of interesting aspects of the store or products, or share images of things the people who shop your business care about. You’ll be amazed at the response when you start sharing your perspective. Visuals speak louder than words.

Use Hashtags to Build a Following
What’s the point of taking a great photograph if no one will notice it? Celebrate your active brand advocates by deciding on a short, easy to type phrase that people can include in their tweets. For example Adidas used the hashtag “#thereturn” to celebrate the return of Derrick Rose. They even made it a predominate design element on their website for D Rose.

With the use of these hashtags you can monitor conversations focused around your brand by using the Twitter search feed or directly displaying these photos using the Instagram API on your website. Make sure to include any legal terms and conditions related to the use of the publically shared content. In the footer of their website, Adidas informed people: * If you send us a Tweet, or use our hashtag “#TheReturn” on Twitter and Instagram, you consent to letting adidas and Derrick Rose use your content and handle, in any media. If you opt in to our Facebook application All In For D Rose by adidas you also consent to letting adidas use your customized Facebook image in any media. Fan based media can be shared cross-platform allowing you to successfully use Instagram for marketing and to increase brand loyalty through the instant gratification of social likes.

Find Your Advocates
Snap a photo using Instagram and then select that you’d like to add a Photo Map. You’ll be prompted to “name a place”. This is where you’ll see a list of available locations based on your GPS location. Once you find your business, select it as the location and then upload your photo. Once uploaded you’ll be able to click on the location as a hyperlink and browse the gallery of photos other people have tagged for that same location.

Find anything interesting? Follow that individual and you’re on your way to building your community.

February 20, 2013January 8, 2013 sundancecompany business information, Economy news, The Sundance Company

Mobile Marketing: What You Should Know

Here is a nifty and informative infographic that clearly illustrates just how much people rely on and use mobile phones and smart mobile devices. The information shows that we use our phones for pretty much everything. More than 1 billion of the world’s 4 billion phones are now smart and 3 billion are SMS (short message service) enabled. It is widely predicted that by 2013 mobile internet usage will overtake desktop internet usage, and in 2012, more than 60% of all local searches are done from a mobile device. To better illustrate the growing mobile marketing opportunity, take a look at this infographic showing the size of the mobile market.

February 6, 2013January 8, 2013 sundancecompany business information, Commercial real estate news, Economy news, The Sundance Company

Have We Reached a World of Infinite Information?

December 28, 2012January 8, 2013 sundancecompany business information, commercial real estate, Commercial real estate news, Economy news, The Sundance Company

Video: Commercial Real Estate’s Economic Contributions to the Economy

Commercial real estate development is a valuable economic engine in the United States – it creates jobs, generates income and significantly contributes to the U.S. economy. Watch this video produced by the NAIOP Research Foundation to learn how commercial real estate development positively impacts the economy throughout economic highs and lows.

December 21, 2012January 8, 2013 sundancecompany commercial real estate, Commercial real estate news, Economy news, The Sundance Company

Commercial Real Estate’s Top 10 List for 2013

The U.S. commercial real estate (CRE) recovery, although slow, has been visible in improved fundamentals, capital availability, asset pricing and transactions. REITs continue to outperform others, primarily due to higher liquidity and relatively easy access to capital markets. However, the CRE recovery appears to be unsteady, with increased “caution” given the nation’s stalled economic recovery, which is due, in part, to sovereign debt problems and economic stagnation in Europe as well as slowing growth in emerging markets such as China and India.

This report, the 14th in Deloitte’s series on critical issues affecting real estate, examines CRE market trends and developments, with a focus on potential solutions to help CRE players favorably position themselves in the medium-to-long term future.

The report examines the top 10 issues facing U.S. CRE in 2013, and how innovation can drive industry growth during this period of slowed CRE recovery.

The top 10 issues for commercial real estate in 2013 are:
• Macroeconomic fundamentals
• CRE fundamentals
• CRE lending
• Real estate investment trusts (REITs) and private equity real estate (PERE)
• CRE deal flow
• Single-family homes
• Globalization of CRE
• Sustainability
• Technology
• Analytics

The complete 32 page report can be downloaded by clicking here.

December 12, 2012January 8, 2013 sundancecompany business information, commercial real estate, Commercial real estate news, Economy news, The Sundance Company

Real Estate Forecast 2013-2014: Commercial Properties

A recent article from Forbes magazine looks into the future and offers its opinions on how 2013 will play out. Continue reading the rest of the story here or below.

Commercial real estate will improve marginally in 2013. New construction activity will inch upward, operating income will be a little better, and property values will level off. Later, in 2014 or 2015, operating income and prices will both rise, triggering increased construction.

The recession clobbered occupancy of office, industrial and retail space, which pulled rents down. Landlords suffered from lower revenues. In the slow recovery, new construction dwindled to nearly nothing. Current need for additional square footage was nil, and those developers who wanted to build for future demand found that lenders were hesitant to take much risk.

The current situation is that leases are dribbling in, generating small increases in occupied square footage. The current pace of construction is not only lower than in the boom, but well below historic averages. We know that given even middling economic growth, we’ll eventually need to build at a much stronger pace. However, the high vacancy rates that are a legacy of the recession will limit new construction through 2013 at least.

Property values have done quite well despite lackluster tenant growth because of low interest rates. If one thinks of a valuation as future earnings discounted by some interest rate, then lower interest rates lead to higher property values. The best mortgage rates have been obtained on excellent properties: good cash flow and good tenants. For such deals, interest is so cheap that it’s almost free. Properties of lower quality have a much narrower range of financing choices, resulting in higher interest rates. High quality commercial properties have appreciated by six percent in the past 12 months, with lower rates of gain for other buildings.

Real estate is always local, and a few markets are seeing a bit of life. However, our perusal of activity in many markets points to mostly build-to-suits in construction activity.

Although there will be very little construction activity in 2013, landlords will see modestly better occupancy. They will curtail rent concessions. Some markets will even experience rent increases. These will help operating earnings.

Interest rates will not fall further in 2013, and long-term mortgage rates may rise late in the year. Thus the operating income gains will not translate into further increases in property values.

New construction in 2013 will be just a little better than this year. The real boost in activity is likely in 2014 or 2015, depending on the market area. Nationally, more of the gain will occur in 2015 than earlier.

Business implications
Tenants with long-term plans for occupancy should lock in rental rates for as long a term a possible. Landlords, in contrast, should be eager to offer two or three year leases, to take advantage of better rental rates in the future. Developers should do the cheap part of planning new projects, but delay commitments to spend large amounts until we have surer signs of future demand.

November 20, 2012January 8, 2013 sundancecompany business information, Economy news, The Sundance Company

Tools To Help the Business Professional Be More Efficient

As business professionals make continued efforts to improve their bottom line, one solution that is readily available to them is eliminating the waste of paper at the office. And in today’s modern office, there there are several tools that can assist with these efforts.

Monitors: Using one or two monitors that support two side-by-side 8.5-inch by 11-inch documents is the most important tool in a paperless office. This enables professionals to work on one document while reviewing the other, eliminating the need to print a document to review it. Most laptops designed in the last four years support two screens (laptop and monitor), and any large-screen monitors (21 inches at 1600 x 1200 resolution or higher) are good for supporting multiple documents on one screen. Users should note that higher resolution is always better and ensures maximum performance.

Laptops and tablets: Since computers are an essential part of going paperless, professionals should consider buying a lightweight laptop or a tablet. If the device is easy to carry, users are more likely to take it with them to meetings or to work from home. The portable devices also allow professionals to fax or e-mail documents to clients from remote locations..

Digital Fax Services: Fax machines shouldn’t be viewed as pieces of hardware anchored in the office, but rather as client-driven scanners to a digital file cabinet. Whether professionals use j-fax, e-fax, or another service, they should think about dumping their dated fax machines as soon as possible. Switching to an electronic fax service that allows brokers to send and receive faxes in their e-mail boxes eliminates excess paper and has a minimal cost per month.

Scanners: Scanners are important office equipment that vary greatly from brand to brand, but it is importnat that the scanner you use can hold 30 pages, scan both sides of a page in seconds, automatically adjust for color or black-and-white documents, and save to PDF through one button. It also is important to have a scanner on each desk to work toward freeing documents from their digital analog format.

Software: As for the right software to use, only two tools are needed: one to read, edit, and manipulate documents and another to search them. Adobe Acrobat is the industry standard for creating, reading, and filing of digital documents. Using an effective search engine such as Google that can read documents is another software option for the busy professional out of the office a lot.

November 6, 2012January 8, 2013 sundancecompany business information, commercial real estate, Commercial real estate news, Economy news, The Sundance Company

Commercial real estate recovery will continue, report says

The article below from the Los Angeles Times reports that the commercial real estate recovery will continue.

The nation’s commercial real estate recovery will advance in 2013 with modest gains in leasing, rents, and sales prices, industry leaders said in a report.

Recent job creation should be enough to increase absorption and push down vacancy rates in the office, industrial and retail sectors. Despite being on a slower-than-normal recovery track, U.S. property sectors and markets have “noticeably” better prospects compared with last year, the report said.

Developers, architects, brokers, lenders and other commercial real estate professionals were surveyed for the annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate report released by the industry think tank Urban Land Institute and accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“What these findings suggest is that, in general, the industry is moving forward bit by bit,” said Stephen Blank, a senior fellow at the institute. “Nothing indicates a quick turnaround for commercial real estate, but it is improving.

Robust demand for apartments — the strongest real estate class — should continue even as construction of new units ramps up, the report said.