Commercial real estate shows a faint pulse

Inside skyscrapers just a short drive from the Atlantic and housing developments overlooking the Pacific, agents and lenders are comparing hopeful hints of rejuvenation to the first wobbly steps following near-death experience.
Albeit the upturn is weak and still mainly confined to the coasts, the commercial real estate industry is rising to the dawn of a national rebound, say market insiders in New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Seattle. But because these small waves of good business vibes haven’t yet lapped into the heartland, a debate is raging among industry experts as to the authenticity of any rebound.
“I am firmly on the side of recovery,” says David Rifkind, managing director of George Smith Partners, an L.A.-based real estate investment banking firm. While he acknowledges that capturing an accurate national snapshot of commercial real estate is “more art than science,” Rifkind believes he feels the early rumbles of a revival. He cites two reasons why many agents, developers and investors in New York and California “are busy” — and why, a country-wide commercial resurgence is looming.
1. Cartoons 1. Mortgage mess
Our cartoonists take a light look at real estate troubles.
“Most commercial real estate recoveries begin in core markets — usually the two coasts and with activity in core (investment-grade) properties. This is how this recovery is behaving,” Rifkind says. “After some time, the recovery spreads from there.
“It is precisely because we are in the beginnings of a market recovery that there is so much debate,” Rifkind adds. “Recoveries do not usually announce themselves ... Our colleagues in Kansas City, Atlanta and Dallas are not experiencing much in their local markets just yet.”
Credit is “opening up” and banks are starting to “step off the sidelines” for commercial deals, Rifkind contends. He points to the June 11 sale by J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp. of a $716.3 million bond backed by commercial mortgages – the second deal of its kind this year and the first to include a portion without an investment-grade rating.
In Los Angeles, some recent commercial sales attracted more than 30 bids – the majority being cash offers, Rifkind says. In Manhattan, at least five transactions have been closed this year for buildings of more than 100,000 square feet and seven similar-sized deals are said to be under contract. In 2009, there were only nine such deals in Manhattan (compared to 101 in 2007).
SOURCE:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38150802/ns/business-real_estate/

Budget 2010 and its Implications on the Real Estate Industry

The budget for the year 2010-2011 was presented by the Hon’ble Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. At the outset, he took cognizance of three key challenges facing the economy today:
* The need to quickly revert to the high GDP growth path of 9 percent, and then find the means to cross the double digit growth barrier, * The need to harness economic growth to consolidate the recent gains in making development more inclusive, and * The need to check weaknesses in government systems, structures and institutions at different levels of governance.
According to the Finance Minister, there is one factor that can hold us back in realizing our potential as a modern nation; it is the bottleneck of the public delivery mechanisms. He further stated that the Union Budget cannot be a mere statement of government accounts but has to reflect the government’s vision and signal the policies to come in future. He further recognized that an enabling government does not try to deliver directly to the citizens everything that they need but instead, it creates an enabling ethos so that individual enterprise and creativity can flourish.
Specifically on the housing and urban sector, the Finance Minister proposed three key enhancements viz.
* The allocation for Swarna Jayanti Sharari Rozgar Yojana, a programme designed to provide employment opportunities in urban areas, shall receive a 75 percent increase in allocation, from Rs.3,060 Crores last year to Rs. 5,400 crore this year ( the allocation for housing urban poverty alleviation has also been increased from Rs.850 crore to Rs. 1,000 crore this year) * The 1 percent interest subvention on housing loans upto Rs.10 lakhs where the cost of the house does not exceed Rs.20 lakhs has been extended for another year – upto 31 March, 2011 and * The Rajiv Awas Yojana for slum dwellers and urban poor announced last year has received an increased allocation of over 700 percent, from Rs.150 crore last year to Rs. 1,270 crore this year.
On the Direct Taxes, the budget has proposed substantial relief to tax payers by broadening the tax slabs by completely exempting tax for income upto Rs. 1.6 lakh, 10 percent tax for income between Rs.1.6 and Rs.5 lakh, 20 percent for income between Rs. 5 lakhs and Rs.8 lakh and 30 percent for income above Rs. 8 lakh. This broadening of tax slabs is expected to increase the affordability of households substantially and a part of this affordability could feed into housing mortgages.
Further, to provide a one time relief to the housing and real estate sector which has been impacted by global recession, pending projects will be allowed to be completed within a period of 5 years (instead of four years) for claiming a deduction on their profits. Also, the norms for built up area of shops and other commercial establishments in housing projects have been relaxed so as to enable basic facilities for the residents.
On the environment side, the government has given several concessions in this budget for solar, wind and LED industries. Under the National Solar Mission, a 5 percent customs duty concession on machinery, instruments, equipment and appliances has been given. Further, these goods have also exempted from Excise Duty. Similarly, for wind energy plants, exemptions have been granted from central excise duty. For LED lights, Excise duty has been reduced from 8 percent to 4 percent. The implication of these proposals is that more environmentally conscious products are likely to emerge in the future.
While all these proposals have been completely growth oriented and are quite welcome, the budget has also proposed a Service Tax on ‘activity of construction’, thereby impacting real estate developers and the end price which the consumer has to pay. This may impact the price lines negatively. However, taking an overall view of the budget, it is a growth oriented budget and is likely to take the overall economy as well as the real estate industry forward.
SOURCE:http://blog.indiaproperties.com/?p=342

Real Estate Developer

In their most fundamental role, commercial real estate developers serve as an intermediary between the construction companies that build the buildings and the businesses that use them. Developers often help businesses that provide the optimum value in functionality, location and cost. They leverage their real estate and construction expertise as they coordinate with construction companies on behalf of the tenant businesses. In this way developers ensure that newly constructed spaces meet the client businesses' needs. Real estate developers are often property managers as well, and keep operations running smoothly by maintaining the facilities, allowing their tenants to focus on driving profits. By bridging the gap between builders and users, real estate developers pay an extremely important role in controlling unnecessary expenses and improving efficiency and effectiveness for all parties involved.
The most influential real estate development companies go beyond this role. The best real estate developers are visionaries, looking years - even decades - beyond today's world to determine what buildings will be needed, and where. They imagine a commercial building, an industrial park or shopping mall, or even an entire commercial district in a currently undeveloped area by looking into the future and projecting what tomorrow's businesses and consumers will need. At their finest, real estate developers are entrepreneurs who seek out opportunity and drive it to reality, and in the process grow our communities and our nation. Tomorrow's manufacturers, distributors, retailers and employers will have a home because today's real estate developers had the daring and vision to foresee their needs.
Real Estate Developer.com showcases famous commercial developers and property managers from history who have demonstrated that entrepreneurial spirit, and along the way have altered the course of America. People like Walt Disney, who created a children's fantasy world known as Disneyland and imagineered the theme park concept used in amusement parks around the world today. Or the architect Victor Gruen, who created a new approach to clustering retail stores under one roof with large department stores to anchor the project . . . and in so doing gave birth to the modern shopping mall. Or Junior Rockefeller, who risked $100 million of his own money on the Rockefeller Center, which created thousands of jobs for desperate construction workers during the Depression and moved his family's core business out of the world's largest oil company and into real estate development. These remarkable stories and more are told in this website's commercial real estate developer articles.
Also featured are leading commercial real estate developers around the United States today, in Texas, New York, Georgia and California. Combined, these real estate developers represent tens of millions of square feet of the world's finest commercial real estate properties.
Real Estate Developer.com is an informational website provided courtesy of General Contractor Bob Moore Construction, a leading construction company in Texas. Bob Moore Construction Company has worked with some of the top real estate developers in Texas and from coast to coast. While Real Estate Developer.com is located in Dallas / Fort Worth Texas, it showcases construction companies around the United States.
We hope you enjoy Real Estate Developer.com - please feel free to visit the websites in our real estate links section. Please visit our links page for commercial real estatate links and for information about construction and real estate industry link exchanges between your site or contact us with other questions.
SOURCE:http://www.realestatedeveloper.com/

Certain Regulation of the Proposed Real Estate Bill can Hit Project and Buyers- Realtors Claim

Even as the real estate sector has welcomed the proposed Model Real Estate (Regulation of Development) Bill, developers feel some of the provisions in the Bill, such as the five-per-cent bank guarantee on project cost, several new advances and reserve funds, will not only block the capital of the developers but also limit the project size. They also claim multiplicity of procedures in the Bill will further delay the project timing up to six months.
The Bill provides strict monitoring of timelines during the execution of the projects putting various penal implications on the promoters. “One of the prime objectives of the Bill is to remove malpractices and fly-by-night developers. “However, there are certain provisions proposed which may defeat the very purpose for which the Act has been proposed,” Rohtash Goel, chairman and managing director, Omaxe Ltd, said. On Friday, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (Credai) had said the Bill in its current form would make homes costly for buyers by Rs 300 per sq. ft.
“The proposed model real estate regulation is a welcome step on the part of government. However, there are many provisions in the bill which will add to the housing cost,” Kumar Gera, president, Credai, the apex body of realty developers in India, said. According to Goel, “The proposed act in its present form will add costs and delays to the lifecycle of the project. In our opinion simplifying the approval procedures, facilitation, regulation, control and growth of real estate development and safeguarding interest of all stakeholders should be its objectives.”
Credai has suggested that there should be collaboration and proper accountability of all concerned authorities so that the complete transaction is efficient and transparent. Apart from that, the Bill has no provisions to control errant buyers and it does not speak about the accountability of local authorities that causes unnecessary delays, said the apex body of realty developers. “Ultimately, it is the end- users who would be affected as we will pass on the cost escalation to the buyers,” Gera said.
“The government has already burdened the buyers with the service tax and increase in the circle rate and on the top of that this new Bill is set to make housing unaffordable for the end-users. Also the affordable housing segment will be the worst hit,” he added. The Bill provides strict monitoring of timelines during the execution of the projects putting various penal implications on the promoters. But developers feel that it has nowhere taken into account the time taken by the government agencies in clearing the projects.
According to Ashwani Prakash, executive director, Paramount Group, “This regulatory Bill provides validity for three years for the licence to be issued by the regulator, whereas the government agencies as mentioned earlier take 18 to 24 months in clearing various approvals. More so when different states have different criteria for clearing projects and granting licensees, such type of sections within the Bill are to be diluted.” Developers have already submitted its paper to the ministry for housing and urban poverty alleviation on cost impact of major provisions in the proposed Bill. It has also requested the ministry to modify certain portions of the Bill, which will help buyers and developers.
SOURCE:http://www.indianrealtynews.com/real-estate-india/certain-regulation-of-the-proposed-real-estate-bill-can-hit-project-and-buyers-realtors-claim.html

Commercial Real Estate - The Market That You Need For Your Business

Starting a business is a serious matter and you should consider proper location for your business, choosing a place for your business is very important to gain success. Many businesses today usually gain success because they have found the best place for their business. The best way to look for a place for your business should start with the kind of market you want to target. If your business is rendering services or offering products that includes basic necessities and other important things that people need. You have to look on those places where a lot of people usually are staying.
Florida commercial real estate is one of the best places to start a business. You can have the target market that you need for your business that can help you achieve success. There are those commercial property that are available in Florida that is situated at the heart of the city. People who consider places like this for their business will definitely be happy with the traffic that they will have on their establishment. Looking for a place for a business is not easy; you must at least do a feasibility study to have the best location for your business.
Florida can offer a lot of things on those people who want to have success in starting business that is why many cities of the state are in demand for those home buyers because the state has almost everything that a family or an individual need. A lot of times, people who want to start a business should consider a place that will give their place great traffic and it must be accessible to a lot of people.
Florida commercial real estate, has the accessibility that many businessmen need, take time to consider those business establishment that is located on commercial property where crowd is present, having it on a crowded place will definitely help you get more traffic and a good way to have great income at the same time. Florida commercial real estate offers a great opportunity for those people who want to start a business and get the target market that they want for their business.
SOURCE:http://ezinearticles.com/?Commercial-Real-Estate---The-Market-That-You-Need-For-Your-Business&id=4673240

A Handful of Tips When You Buy Commercial Property

Real estate investing has the huge potential to provide massive and serious profits as far as the financial industry greats are concerned. They will also tell you that its associated risks in some scenarios far outweigh the potential if you talk to those investors who are more careful in the industry. You can also talk to people who made their riches in real estate and they will inform you that it is worth all the risks associated once you manage all the problems and issues and get in your way to property riches.

Commercial property is somewhat different from other property investment kinds. This is the kind of property that needs a big investment to come into the game, much bigger than a large amount residential property and have equally extreme risks depending on what you prepare to carry out with your investment. Normally, you will fu1rthermore learn more than several choices for your commercial property investment that many investors observe appealing.
Several investors learn leasing office or building space to be the safest way to go when they buy commercial property. When it comes to commercial property investing, it is the path of leasing office space or warehouse space to several businesses. They sense that this is a relatively consistent source of revenue since a large amount of businesses have a preference to keep their locations as long as possible. Smart business operators are very well aware that customers, clients, and vendors should be able to locate them in order to conduct business with them and for this reason, have a preference to keep their operation in the same area whenever possible instead of reestablishing themselves in changed areas every year.

Commercial real estate investing is a somehow a diverse creature than the usual residential property investing that some of us are a lot familiar or otherwise comfortable with. You will have to deal with a bunch of study prior to jumping in with both feet with this specific sort of property investment. Commercial property investments can have many forms. It ranges from strip malls and outright shopping malls to business and industrial complexes to sky scrapers and high rise condos you will discover every method of commercial real estate interests. Whether your interests rest in business or personal types of commercial property, there are major profits that are waiting to be made.

Unfortunately, newcomers often find the way to buy commercial property investing loaded with problems. You will need a big contribution to fund your commercial property endeavors and it is probably excellent if you can find a group of investors in order to share some of the risks involved. Real estate, in and of itself, is a high-risk endeavor. It contains a little more of the risks in the beginning but once you're established and people, particularly investors, know your name, you will find that the way to riches is much easier obtained through commercial real estate, if you handle your cards correctly as compared to many other kinds of real estate investing methods.

To gain even larger profits, it is sometimes excellent to work as part of a group of investors. Not only does this method distribute out the risks to several degree but furthermore helps locate the good buys, distributes the work pool, provides an environment of ideas, and allows you to feedback those ideas off each other looking for temperance and jest for members of your investment team in like measures. It is an excellent way for individuals who are seeking to create a thriving future in the domain of commercial property investing and can be tremendously profitable for everyone involved.

SOURCE:
http://www.ultimatearticledirectory.com/article188760-A+Handful+of+Tips+When+You+Buy+Commercial+Property.html

Commercial Real Estate Loans - 12 Problems to Avoid

This article describes 12 recurring problems with commercial real estate loans that commercial borrowers and their advisors need to anticipate before it is too late. The following problems are common in traditional bank commercial real estate loans and should be avoided if feasible (special circumstances will periodically make some of these terms unavoidable).

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS PROBLEM NUMBER 1: Tax Returns versus Stated Income

Most traditional banks will require several years of tax returns in order to qualify for a commercial real estate loan. The alternative is to use a Stated Income lender that does not verify personal income or assets. Many borrowers will simply not qualify for a commercial mortgage loan if tax returns are used due to high business expenses (and low net income). Many lenders using tax returns will also continue to verify income after the loan closes. Stated Income lenders will not engage in this practice.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS PROBLEM NUMBER 2: Special Purpose Properties

It is becoming increasingly difficult to get commercial loans for special purpose properties. Properties that do not fall in the categories of apartments or retail/office buildings are often placed in this special purpose classification. This means that business acquisition loans for commercial properties such as restaurants/bars and auto service businesses are frequently hard to find. Commercial financing will be even more difficult to locate for such specialized properties as churches, funeral homes, nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS PROBLEM NUMBER 3: Recall/balloon features

These terms are used by many banks to effectively shorten most commercial real estate loans to 3-7 years.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS PROBLEM NUMBER 4: Short-term loans (less than fifteen years)

15-40 year commercial property loans without recall/balloon features are available.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS PROBLEM NUMBER 5: Up-front Commitment fees

Under most circumstances, commercial borrowers should not pay such a fee. Please note that processing/retainer fees are not included in this discussion of commitment fees. Processing/retainer fees should be viewed as an acceptable and standard business practice when dealing with commercial real estate loans.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS PROBLEM NUMBER 6: Business Plans

Under most circumstances, commercial borrowers should not use a lender that requires a business plan.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS PROBLEM NUMBER 7: Cross-collateralization

Commercial borrowers should not be required to use their personal assets as collateral for a commercial property loan.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS PROBLEM NUMBER 8: Sourcing and seasoning assets. Seasoning of ownership.

This particular problem will not be relevant to all business borrowers. However, if it is relevant, you should seek out a lender without sourcing and seasoning requirements or limitations. Most banks have strict guidelines for sourcing and seasoning of assets or ownership to qualify for commercial real estate loans. For a purchase, commercial lenders will frequently want documentation about where the down payment is coming from (sourcing). Commercial lenders will also frequently have very specific requirements stipulating that the funds must have been in a specific account for a specific period of time, often 3-6 months or longer (seasoning). Seasoning of ownership is similar to seasoning of funds, except this requirement involves the minimum time someone has owned a commercial property before they can refinance the property.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS PROBLEM NUMBER 9: Requirement to sign IRS Form 4506

IRS Form 4506 authorizes the lender to obtain a borrower's tax returns directly from the IRS. This form is routinely required by most traditional banks and many other commercial lenders for a business acquisition loan. Commercial borrowers using a Stated Income lender with limited documentation requirements will avoid this requirement.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS PROBLEM NUMBER 10: Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) in excess of 1.2 for a business acquisition loan

The most flexible approach to DSCR for a commercial property loan will require a DSCR in the range of 1 to 1.2, with exceptions permitting a DSCR less than 1.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS PROBLEM NUMBER 11: Minimum commercial property loan size that is too high for your commercial mortgage needs.

It is not unusual to encounter a minimum commercial real estate loan requirement of $500,000 to $1,000,000.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS PROBLEM NUMBER 12: Excessive length of the commercial real estate loan process

Many traditional banks require three to nine months to close a commercial mortgage. A more action-oriented commercial lender will close commercial real estate loans in 45 to 60 days.

SOURCE:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Commercial-Real-Estate-Loans---12-Problems-to-Avoid&id=350177

Commercial Real Estate Desirability

For those who are looking for an excellent way to generate outside income, the commercial real estate industry is a great way to go. Many people have begun to invest in commercial real estate, and since this type of real estate is continually being purchased and sold, it has become an excellent way to invest money for a guaranteed return. Before one becomes involved in the commercial real estate market
, it is highly important that they understand the commercial real estate industry and its many surrounding components.

A Basic Definition of Commercial Real Estate
First and foremost, it is imperative that one understands a basic definition of commercial real estate. Essentially, commercial real estate includes various real estate properties that have the potential to be able to generate outside revenue or even income for the owner. Whether the property has immediate potential for generating income or revenue immediately, or perhaps in the future, it can still be labeled as commercial real estate.

A Desirable Investment
Commercial real estate is an excellent choice for investors for a variety of different reasons. One of the main reasons that investors find commercial real estate to be such a pleasing investment is that is brings about both long term and short term financial benefits. In the short term, commercial real estate can help you bring in a better cash flow from the use of the property, and at the same time, in the long run the property will only appreciate in value, which will result in long term benefits should you choose to sell. Most investors also find that there is a lot less risk involved with commercial real estate than there is when dealing with other types of real estate. If you purchase apartment buildings or a strip mall, the risk of your investment will spread out among those who are renting from you, and even if you lose one of your renters, you still will be making money and seeing a return from your investment.

Commercial Real Estate Properties
Another positive benefit of commercial real estate is that the scope of properties that you can invest in is quite large. Commercial real estate includes various different properties that make excellent investments. As long as the building consists of more than four units, it can be considered a commercial real estate property. Commercial real estate also includes other properties such as strip malls, apartment buildings, RV parks, industrial parks, mobile home parks, and commercial centers.

Jobs within the Commercial Real Estate Industry
There are a variety of different jobs that are included within the commercial real estate industry, and all of them benefit from this excellent market. The investors have a very important job within the industry, since it is their money that is being used to make the property develop and become prosperous. Builders too have an important job, and many times they work within the commercial real estate industry to build new structures on commercial property such as apartment buildings or shopping malls. The lenders have a very important job, and they work to make sure that investors get the loans and mortgages they may need to be able to purchase commercial real estate properties. Also within the industry are the brokers who represent the owners and deal with the sales and property transfer issues. Last of all, but certainly not least, are the users who actually put the money in the investor's pocket.

Financing Commercial Real Estate
Those who are planning on being involved in commercial real estate need to consider how they can finance any commercial real estate purchases. While few people can actually just purchase the property with money they already have, most people are going to be turning to other methods of financing the property. More than likely you are going to need to go to a lender to be able to finance any commercial real estate that you want to purchase, but there are a few things that you can do to make the process smother.

First of all, you will want to make sure that you have a business plan. You need to be able to show the lender why you want the property and how you plan on making it a successful investment. It is also important that you have at least a portion of the money needed for the property saved up so you can show that this is a serious venture and you are ready to make a personal investment in its success. Also helpful is a current appraisal of the property you are considering. This will help show the value of the property to the prospective lender. Having an attorney to help you and to check out legal issues will also be important, and in the end you should always compare several lending offers before making a final decision.

Getting Started
For those who are interested in commercial real estate and the financial benefits that can be enjoyed, there are many ways to get a start in the business. One of the keys to getting started is to glean all the information about the business that you can, whether from reading books, searching the internet, or speaking with friends and business colleagues that may have experience in commercial real estate investing. Checking into the area you live in and getting a look at what kind of commercial real estate is available and what the prices are running can help you begin to get a closer look at the costs and the availability of commercial real estate in your area. Attending zoning and city planning meetings may also give you insights and ideas for getting started as well. Lastly, one of the best things you can do is to start building a network of friends and business acquaintances that already have their foot in the door of the commercial market. Learning from their successes and mistakes can help you on your way to becoming a successful commercial real estate investor.

SOURCE:
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/commercial-real-estate-desirability-112792.html

The Greek Commercial Real Estate Market in 2010 Read more at Suite101: The Greek Commercial Real Estate Market in 2010 http://investment.suite101.com

The Greek Commercial Real Estate market has been, historically, a turbulent market.

On the one hand stringent legislation restricts the fluidity of the supply and demand function; for example the renter can only with great difficulty force a commercial business to abandon the rented premises in question.
Greek Government Laws

On the other hand, mainly because of the aforementioned laws, the renter usually and even in times of crisis, demands unreasonably high prices from the commercial business renting the premises in question.

These high prices have to do with the renter's sometimes misguided perception as to the actual value of the property being rented, but also as a shield against future problems with the commercial enterprise, and the difficulty in forcing the specific often delinquent business to abandon the rented property.

In Greece, forcing a business to abandon rented premises, even if the particular business has stopped paying rent, can be expensive as well as time consuming and usually requires a court injunction; another time consuming factor.
Greek Commercial Real Estate Investment

The Greek government has imposed a number of measures with the hope of stimulating the market, and alleviating debt burdened merchants from bankruptcies. One such measure includes the finance ministry's intervention in the formulated rent contracts and asphyxiating rent related measures.

These government measures have indeed provided a breath of fresh air to problematic businesses, but have also eroded further the Greek commercial real estate market as an investment vehicle. It should be noted that as per Greek commercial real estate firms Aspis and Triad Real Estate estimations, the said market has suffered in the last two years a 30% decline in value, a negative price spiral that is expected to dramatically continue this year and in 2011.

SOURCE:

http://investment.suite101.com/article.cfm/the-greek-commercial-real-estate-market-in-2010

China Real Estate Market Recovers

Impacted by the economic setback, the Chinese real estate industry slowed down since the second half of 2008. But pushed by the 4000 billion yuan ($590 billion) stimulus package from the Chinese government, the industry recovered since the first half of 2009.

It is forecasted that the China real estate market will keep increasing in 2009, and boom in 2010 and 2011, for the government has offered new policies to push the market. For example, the Chinese insurance companies have been allowed to invest in the commercial real estate market Since October 1st, 2009, which will bring the market a total investment of $50 - $100 billion in the next few years.
Investment Rose

The investment on the Chinese real estate market is recovering. In the first three quarter of 2009, China’s investment on real estate market reached 2.505 trillion yuan ($370 billion), increasing 17.7% from the same period of last year. The investment on commercial residential real estate was 1.7582 trillion yuan, increasing 13.8% from 2008.

Foreign Investment Decreased

As foreign money retreated from the Chinese real estate market due to a financial storm, Chinese companies raised more money through domestic channels. The foreign money was down to 35.9 billion yuan (US$5.3 billion) in the first three quarter of 2009, decreasing 26.2% from 2008. On the other hand, loans from the Chinese commercial banks increased 47.2% to 819 billion yuan, advanced payment increased 52.0% to 1.0269 trillion yuan, and personal mortgage loans increased 107.7% to 534.5 billion yuan from 2008.
Real Estate Projects Re-opened

Some real estate projects stopped construction in the last few months but reopened again. In the first three quarters of 2009, the newly opened real estate projects reached 732 million square meters, down 0.4% from 2008. But as old projects reopened, the real state projects under construction totally accounted 2.775 billion square meters, increasing 15.4% compared to 2008.

The real estate projects finished in the first three quarters of 2009 accounted 334 million square meters, increasing 24.7% from 2008. Among them 277 million square meters were residential housings. Residential real estate increased 26.7% from 2008.

SOURCE:http://flipping-real-estate.suite101.com/article.cfm/china_real_estate_market_recovers

Commercial Real Estate Developers: How To Choose Right Property Developer? Read more: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Commercial-Real-Estate-Dev

Commercial real estate is nowadays a common buzz word which people come across. Commercial real estates are investment or income properties. It includes offices, malls, restaurant, shopping complex, warehouse, multifamily apartment, multiplexes, etc. People find commercial real estate as good opportunity to invest on. It has turned out to be gold for many of the investors. It is not necessary that everyone has the same story.

Someone has rightly said that “Think twice before acting, this is the sign of being wise”. One who plunges into the trail of others is surely going to fall into pit one day. Similar has happened to many real estate investors who acted without thinking and have lost huge amounts. One should find good real estate developers in India to find right place for them at right prices.

Commercial real estate developers serve as a bridge between the construction companies that build the buildings and the businesses that use them. Property developers in India help businesses in providing best appropriate location and cost. With their wide experience in real estate and construction, property developers in India ensure that newly constructed spaces meet the client businesses' needs. Real estate developers are often property managers as well, and keep operations running smoothly by maintaining the facilities, allowing their property owners to focus on driving profits. By bridging the gap between builders and users, real estate developers in India pay an extremely important role in controlling unnecessary expenses and improving efficiency and effectiveness for all parties involved.

Duties of a Commercial Real Estate Developer

The job of the commercial real estate developer is to purchase property and then develop it to turn a profit down the road. This is a tedious undertaking that involves a great deal of time. In some areas, developers buy land and hold it for quite some time, waiting for the market to be just right to build. Market research skills and an ability to read into trends within a target community are a must here. For a real estate developer to really succeed, developers should be able to buy land at a low price and develop in order to generate high return. This takes serious negotiating skills and knowledge of when it's time to walk away.

Real estate development doesn't stop when a land purchase is made. The work, at this point, is only starting. To carry through, a property developer in India needs to create a plan for the site, gain proper approvals for construction, obtain financing and then see the construction process through to the end. The job of a top real estate developer is not completed over night. That is why property developers are paid highly. A good commercial property developer always has methodical approach which includes market research, acquisition, development and distribution of land.

SOURCE:
http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Commercial-Real-Estate-Developers--How-To-Choose-Right-Property-Developer-/1324353

Hawaii Commercial Real Estate Forecast

Retail sales: by watching the gross sales of retailers, you can predict if they’ll be able to pay rent, and how the property as a whole will perform. In 4th quarter 2009, sales began to go up again, and that could be the saving factor for rental rates and occupancy rates in Hawaii.

Retailers expanding and contracting: The biggest surprise is that Luxury retailers, along with best sellers, discount retailers and apparel and department stores, showed an increase in sales. Stores such as Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom had about a 4.5% increase in sales.

Shopping Center statistics: We’ve been seeing a drop in tenant sales that increases as you get further away from the core of Honolulu, and interestingly enough, Landlord revenues have gone up slightly. We’ve also been seeing Landlord expenses go down as owners buckle down to get through the year.


Vacancy Rates: Compared to the West Coast, Hawaii is in good shape, but when we look at the neighbor islands, you see rates jump to as high as 11.53%. It is definitely a Tenant’s market, as we’ve seen rental rates drop from $5 to $2-3 in a short period of time.


2010: Expect a slight increase in vacancy, we’re predicting 4.5%, as well as a 5% increase in sales. Not quite up to 2008 sales yet, but we’re getting close.

Expanding Retailers:

Slides 11 and 12 list Tenants who have opened in 2009, spent money, made the investment
, and took the risk. These are very few and far between.

SOURCE:
http://www.a1articles.com/article_1592069_33.html

Commercial property contractors feel pinch

Bovis Lend Lease is understood to have put up to 200 staff on notice of redundancy as the impact of the drop in commercial work bites the construction firm.

Sources close to the firm stressed that the move was part of a legal process and did not necessarily mean that that number of staff would lose their jobs; however, the move is evidence that the global financial turmoil is starting to hit major contractors.

It is understood that the firm has been particularly suffering in its UK Southern business, which is involved in the 2012 athletes' village project. The division focuses its work around key developers, including Land Securities and Stanhope, all of which have been affected by the credit crunch.

The £300million Walbrook Square Stanhope scheme on Queen Victoria Street, dubbed Darth Vader's Helmet is a case in point, has been delayed until at least 2009, partly as a result of legal wrangling between client Metrovacesa and freeholder Legal & General. Bovis has removed it's project team from the site now. The 92,900m2 project is being redesigned because of changing market conditions. It is understood that the alterations may include reducing the height of the planned 22-storey office blocks.

The development will have to be resubmitted for planning permission as a result of the revisions, but Metrovacesa still intends to complete it by 2012.

Metrovacesa agreed to buy the site in September 2007, but became engaged in a row with Legal & General over conditions. In May the pair negotiated an agreement to give Metrovacesa a more flexible leasehold interest.

It has been reported that Metrovacesa may consider replacing architects Jean Nouvel and Foster + Partners on the scheme as it is seeking designs that will be cheaper to build.

About UK Business Property

Whilst there are more than 20 portals covering residential property in the UK the commercial property market remains relatively unserved, with no site having a majority share of the total available commercial property listed. The internet has taken a significantly greater share of all advertising spend each year as it continues to prove that it is the most effective medium for advertisers to reach their audience.

Traditional estate agency methods remain quite successful in reaching the local market around a property, but do not capture leads from the national and international markets at all well. With increasing mobility of populations and business in the global village, it makes sense to expose commercial properties as efficiently as possible to the whole market. In 2006 there were 6 million searches (based on figures from Yahoo Search) made on the internet in the UK for commercial property of all types. Many of these searches will be fruitless as major search engines do not expose many of the available properties at present.

UK Business Property aims to change this by offering commercial agents important incentives to bring all their properties to the whole market. By linking to UKBP agents will bring more traffic to their websites. For agents who do not yet have a fully featured search on their website UKBP offers it's advanced search functions free of charge, in an easy to implement solution. The advantage is that you keep your visitors on your site and build your brand in your local market, while receiving leads from a national and international audience.

SOURCE:
http://www.articleclick.com/Article/Commercial-property-contractors-feel-pinch/1060628

Real Estate Properties: The big profits

Real estate is often termed as the safest investment avenue. In fact, real estate investments done with proper evaluation of the property (and its true value), can lead to good profits. This is one reason why some people pursue real estate investment as their full time job. The talks of real estate are generally focussed towards residential real estate; commercial real estate seems to take a back seat. However, commercial real estate too is a good option for investing in real estate.

Commercial real estate includes a lot of different kinds of properties. Most people relate commercial real estate with only office complexes or factories/ industrial units. However, that is not all of commercial real estate. There is more to commercial real estate. Health care centers, retail structures and warehouse are all good examples of commercial real estate. Even residential properties like apartments (or any property that consists of more than four residential units) are considered commercial real estate. In fact, such commercial real estate is much in demand.

So, is commercial real estate really profitable? Well, if it were not profitable I would not have been writing about commercial real estate at all. So, commercial real estate is profitable for sure. The only thing with commercial real estate is that recognising the opportunity is a bit difficult as compared to residential real estate. But commercial real estate profits can be real big (in fact, much bigger than you would expect from residential real estate of the same proportion). You could take up commercial real estate for either reselling after appreciation or for renting out to, say, retailers. The commercial real estate development is in fact treated as the first sign for growth of residential real estate. Once you know of the possibility of significant commercial growth in the region (either due to tax breaks or whatever), you should start evaluating the potential for appreciation in the prices of commercial real estate and then go for it quickly (as soon as you find a good deal). And you must really work towards getting a good deal. If you find that commercial real estate, e.g. land, is available in big chunks which are too expensive for you to buy, you could look at forming a small investor group (with your friends) and buy it together (and split the profits later). In some cases e.g. when a retail boom is expected in a region, you might find it profitable to buy a property
that you can convert into a warehouse for the purpose of renting to small businesses.

So commercial real estate presents a whole plethora of investing opportunitiesPsychology Articles, you just need to grab it.

SOURCE:
http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/real-estate-properties-the-big-profits.html

Real Estate Investing for Beginners Options

There are different real estate investing for beginners options available for you if you are considering real estate as an investing means in the coming days. I don't see any reason why you will not consider it. Most wealthy people in the world have one way or another gained their massive wealth using real estate investing. With this upside comes the risk associated with real estate investing.

As a rule of thumb, you got to have several stable means of pumping in cash for financial stability while doing real estate deals. The following are just several methods of real estate investing together with their associated risks.

Commercial Real Estate
To buy commercial property is a good place to start. It is relatively secure if compared to several of the other forms of real estate investing. The problem with commercial real estate is that it is a huge investment to start with. This is something that many real estate investors don't even think until they have built a sizable portfolio and have plenty of money to risk. It is stable because most businesses that lease from you will seek to lease on a long-term basis. This means that by the time you have clients, businesses prefer to stay in one location as long as possible because it's bad for business in most cases to consistently move, they tend to stay a while.

House Flipping

Flipping property is becoming a popular form of real estate investing and many folks have learned that this is also a good way to profit fast. This is a high-risk business to say the least but the rewards are equally huge when a flip goes well. You need to decide if you are ready to take the risk as house flips are part skill and part luck.

Residential Investment Rental Properties
Although becoming a landlord is not as fabulous as having business properties around the city or flipping highly profitable properties for quick cash, it is a good method to work out for a comfortable retirement. Residential investment rental property is a long-term kind of real estate investment; however, the returns can be worth it when all is done correctly. This is perfectly fit for the risk-averse real estate investor.


Pre-Construction Real Estate
Profit for this method is even riskier than house flipping in many ways, especially as it has grown so prevalent in current years. The secret key with this kind of investing option is searching the right property in the right marketplace. If you can invest in a city that is going to have a serious housing scarcity or is in the early stages of a housing scarcity (such as a some desert and coastal communities have experienced in previous years) you might get quite a fortune. The highly competitive and highly speculative natures are the issues of this investing option.

Lease or Rent to Own
Lease or rent to own properties oftentimes bring good profits. For several real estate owners, this is preferred than straight up renting for several reasons. One, those who are hoping to own their homes are more likely to take good care of their homes as compared to those who are merely renting. This means that if for some reason they decide to transfer somewhere else and don't complete a lesser amount of payment, the probability of needing major repairs before you can accept a new client is small. You have the option to ask a little more than rent applying a small percentage of the monthly rent to the purchase price or down payment of the house. You can also be helping a family that might have encountered rough time along the way to get the American dream of home ownership.
Real estate investing is an excellent method of building massive fortunes. You should decide where you like to start your trip into this lucrative arena however. Just don't forget that after you've begun your real estate investment career, it is highly recommended to use more than one type of investment methods to diversity and spread the risks, as this is a precarious market at its finest.

SOURCE:
http://www.ultimatearticledirectory.com/article173209-Real+Estate+Investing+for+Beginners+Options.html