This is not an abstraction: buildings large and small are showing gaping vacancies. Storefronts are empty. Entire buildings sit waiting to be occupied. In Manhattan, retail vacancies have reached their highest rates since 2001. For the second quarter of this year, vacancies hit the absurd height of 12.4%, thanks to unemployment trends that won't quit and consumers reluctant to pry open their wallets.

Retailers are being hit just like the residential market.

Continue reading Commercial real estate vacancies surge above 12% in Manhattan

Commercial real estate vacancies surge above 12% in Manhattan originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Listen to what Richard Parkus of Deutsche Bank has to say about commercial real estate. He said that "We are not only not approaching stability, we are at a period of maximum deterioration."

We have often said that after the collapse of residential real estate in the last year, the next shoe to drop would be the commercial market. What is being wrung out of the home market is now beginning to be felt big time in commercial real estate. Landlords are putting together all kinds of packages, including free rent and other perks, and still prices are falling. It is believed that values are down a whopping 50% from their peak in 2007.

Continue reading Commercial real estate market sinks

Commercial real estate market sinks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.