2009 Newsletter Archives
March
April
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2010 NEWS
Inflection Point: Renewed Hiring, Leasing Start to Lift Nation's Office Markets : Vacancy Rates Have Plateaued and Lease Transactions Are Picking Up, but Declining Rents and Operating Income Continue to Challenge Office Landlords.
JLL Sees Recovery Signs for Office Market : Signs of a national office market recovery, including the peaking of sublease space and rents bottoming out, began appearing this year, according to Jones Lang LaSalle in its First Quarter 2010 North American Office Outlook. However, company research experts believe that though confidence is returning, job growth will be slow to recover until at least the beginning of 2011.
Plant Coming to Rio Rancho - 1,500 New Solar Jobs : Company hopes to eventually employ 3,000 in NM. Mayor Thomas Swisstack announced that the startup company Green2V Green Energy Solutions plans to build its first plant and headquarters in Rio Rancho.
Private Equity Money Seeing Opportunities in CRE Again : While Major Action May Not Occur til 2011, Some Anxious To Get in Now.
Industrial Rent Growth: Down But Not Out : US industrial rents are down 20% to 30% from their 2008 peak and well below levels that support new construction. In some markets, rents are at levels not seen in the last 30 years on a nominal basis and much lower on an inflation-adjusted basis.
An End to Our Long Winter? : Recently Diane Swonk, Economist and Federal Reserve Board advisor, highlighted seven factors which indicate our recession is coming to an end. She is quick to note that the gains are not definite; stating “whether those gains can be sustained long enough to bring down unemployment remains an unknown” and characterized any potential recovery as “rocky”. Nevertheless, her points can be taken as a glimmer of hope.
NM Latest State to Eye TOD (Transit Oriented Development) : In 2006, New Mexico Rail Runner launched commuter rail service between Albuquerque and Sandoval County to the north. These days, with a 97-mile rail now open between Belen, south of Albuquerque and Santa Fe to the north, officials are starting to consider transitoriented development around stations along the rail line.
HUD Hops on the Bandwagon : Traditional lenders tightened their underwriting criteria almost immediately after the credit collapse, and construction loans were among the hardest hit. Now, the government has decided that may not be a bad idea.
Economy Watch - CRE Prices Out of Trough : Green Street Advisors reported on Tuesday that its Commercial Property Price Index rose by 1 percent in February, compared with the previous month.
Industrial Real Estate May Have Steadied : Jump in vacancy rates appears to have tapered off at end of 2009.
Vacany Gloom Lifts a bit by Year's End : A dark and cloudy year for the Albuquerque metro's office real estate market had a silver lining. The office market ended 2009 with more space filling up than going empty.
2009 NEWS
Duke City's Flat Economy Best in Region : Unemployment Rates also lower than other Rocky Mountain Cities. Albuquerque's economy has failed to grow at all since last year. But that still makes it the best performing metropolitan area in the Intermountain West and one of the best performers in the nation, according to Brookings Mountain West initiative.
Partially built Four Points hotel on hold : Construction of the Four Points by Sheraton hotel, highly visible from the Big I at 1660 University NE, has apparently fallen victim to the tight credit markets...the web site currently says the hotel is scheduled to open in 2020, a timeline that baffles city officials.
Team Promotes Uptown Tax District : Resistance from some area property owners could make new levies a tough sell. Uptown may become more of a destination location, if the Uptown Progress Team gets its wish - and some additional funding.
Commercial Slump : Compared to other regional cities, Albuquerque is faring relatively well.
Custard Shop Serves Up Smooth Comfort : Just in time for the heat that's hit the city, Albuquerque has gotten its first frozen custard shop, Chillz Frozen Custard. Ed Anlian of REA represented Chillz and David Genrich of REA is the property listing agent.
Industrial - Space Vacancies Defy National Trends : ...major deals helped drive down vacancies in industrial space during the second quarter in the Albuquerque Metro Area, defying a national trend.
Downtown's New Draws - Influx of businesses altering the face, attitude of Central Avenue environs. There's a number of surprising new reasons to go Downtown. The area has welcomed a migration of new businesses - mostly eateries and art galleries - within the past month and is seeing some changes to current businesses and late-night traffic control.
Groundbreaking Gets Shopping Center Under Way : Finally. After more than a year of bureaucratic wrangling, permitting problems and economically motivated delays, officials are slated to officially break ground today on the controversial Unser Crossing shopping center.
Holding Their Own : New Mexico banks remain in better shape than many of their peers elsewhere in the country
What to do with Debt? : County Borrowed Money, Didn't Buy Site. Bernalillo County borrowed about $42 million to buy the office building at 500 Marquette NW. It never went through with the purchase but is stuck with the debt.
Industrial Space Available : The supply of industrial space for sublease has tripled in the past year to 360,000 square foot mark, the first time since the third quarter of 2005. "It services the need for low-dollar space and works well with distribution" said David Genrich of Real Estate Advisors. "It's typically short term, so it's really an opportunity for basic cold storage of excess inventory."
Locally owned Trucks Unique, has its 24,000 square foot building on 2.5 acres at 8300 Pan American NE on the sublease market while it looks into buying its own site. Ed Anlian & Mark Friedman of Real Estate Advisors are the listing agents for the Trucks Unique space.
New Tech : Solar Plant gets a fitting start on Earth Day
It was just coincidence, but a happy one for plant managers that the first forklift full of new solar energy receivers happened to roll off of Schott's assembly line April 22. Located at Mesa del Sol, the new plant will be formally dedicated today.
Mall giant General Growth files for bankruptcy : Mall giant General Growth Properties is not just the biggest company to file for bankruptcy protection this year, it's one of the biggest companies to go bust in history. (See a list of the top 15 here). But General Growth, which has $30 billion in assets and filed for Chapter 11 today, may not remain at the top of this year's list for long.
New Mexico Locations - Owned & Operated by GGP
Albuquerque - Coronado Center
Clovis - North Plains Mall
Farmington - Animas Valley Mall
Gallup - Rio West Mall
$2.5B Intel Upgrade in Rio Rancho : Chip Plant Construction Could Bring 1,500 Jobs. Intel Corp. announced Tuesday (Feb. 10, 2009) it will spend $2.5 billion to upgrade its Rio Rancho manufacturing plant over the next two years, creating up to 1,500 temporary jobs and preserving existing positions at the New Mexico operation.
Open Space - City's Commercial Real Estate Hit, But Not as Hard as Others: Albuquerque's commercial real estate market - just like many other areas of the local economy - is feeling the impact of the national recession.
