Industrial Space Costs Expected to Dip and then Firm Up
A recent article in CFO magazine, which targets chief financial officers (CFOs) and those in related corporate positions, encourages its readers with "good news for companies that rent office or industrial space. It figures to become less costly in the near future." The article points to Grubb & Ellis' "2009 Real Estate Forecast" as the basis for this optimism. The forecast says, "The bad news for landlords is that the key drivers of demand for industrial space are flashing red, including falling retail sales, store closures, a shrinking manufacturing sector and a slowdown in global demand for U.S.-made goods and equipment." But industrial tenants looking for bargains may need to move quickly. The report goes on to say, "The good News [for landlords] is that the construction pipeline is thinning quickly with 90 million square feet under way at year-end 2008, already down by 36 percent from the peak of 142 million square feet in the third quarter of 2007." G&E finds that Broward County, FL, Long Island, NY, Orange County, CA, and San Diego have the highest industrial rental rates, while Memphis, Columbus, OH, Greenville, SC, and Chattanooga have among the lowest. The forecast looks at the corporate trend toward increasing supply chain efficiency as another factor of resistance against a free fall in industrial rents. The report concludes, "Helping to put a floor under demand for industrial space is the fact that industrial properties are tied closely to the operation and productivity of the business itself, more so than office properties. A new, state-of-the-art distribution center should help the occupant operate more efficiently, thereby saving on costs."

Find a Real Estate Job; Post an Opening; Post a Resume
Go to the IAMC Career Center to read about dozens of corporate real estate, economic development and real estate service provider jobs. Here's an example: Director of Facilities Management for Career Education Corp. The position description says the incumbent will "Direct CEC's facilities management program through a combination of internal staff and external vendor resources to develop the best programs, initiatives, processes, procedures and/or documents."

Post a job on Career Builder.com through IAMC Notes and we will feature that job in one weekly edition of Notes. Looking seriously? Post your resume by clicking here.

More Brokers Touting LEED Know-how

• Jumping onto the green-awareness bandwagon, commercial real estate brokers are earning their LEED accreditations at a growing pace. A Houston Chronicle article says, "Of the nearly 1,000 LEED professionals in Houston, an estimated 10 percent are commercial real estate brokers, a number that's expected to double in as little as five years, according to Lora-Marie Bernard, executive director of U.S. Green Building Council Greater Houston Area Chapter. The increased interest, she said, is being driven by Houston's energy-centric economy as well as a nationwide culture shift toward responsible use of natural resources. With more people interested, the Houston chapter will soon start holding regular study groups to prepare individuals for the test required to earn the accreditation."

Commercial Real Estate Needs Reasonable Lending Standards

Source: http://www.loanswithrob.com

• The real estate frenzy was fueled by cheap credit, which allowed investors and developers to bid up prices of existing properties," writes Sue Kirchhoff in USA Today. With readily available loans, deals went ahead that were not justified on economic grounds. Now, many of those projects are in trouble. The article cites Jeffrey DeBoer, president of the Real Estate Roundtable, who says "about $400 billion worth of commercial real estate mortgages will come due by the end of 2009. Investors and developers might have trouble refinancing many loans, due to tight credit and falling rents and property values."
  

Participate in IAMC's Online Business Networking

• Stay "linked in" year-round with fellow IAMC members through IAMC's LinkedIn online business networking group, which is open exclusively to members.  Once you join, you can:

  Source: blog.linkedin.com

  • Keep in touch with fellow members on a one-on-one basis;
  • Discover new business contacts;
  • Post discussion items to the group or share your knowledge by answering others' questions;
  • Display the IAMC logo on your individual LinkedIn profile page;
  • And more.

  Here's a recently posted query: "Do you support the creation of more alternative energy jobs in the U.S.? If so, please tell why and how your area would benefit. Thank you."

  To jump to the LinkedIn logon screen, click here.  Once logged on, go the top of the left-hand column and click on "groups." For more information on LinkedIn or the IAMC Group on LinkedIn, click here.