Southern California Industrial Real Estate Blog

WILL THE FED HAVE TO BAIL OUT THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY TO SAVE THE ECONOMY?

March 3, 2008 on 7:31 pm | In CHARTS + STATISTICS, FASCINATING INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE INFORMATION, FASCINATING INFORMATION, FUNNY...MONEY, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

WILL THE FED HAVE TO BAIL OUT THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY TO SAVE THE ECONOMY? 

Whew!! We were reading this week’s headlines from the weekly newsletter Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation and chills went down our spine…like watching a car skid off the road… 

Economic Data Global Express (e-EDGE)
Released March 3, 2008
THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES:
California January Resale Housing Market Downbeat
California January Housing Permit No Great Shakes Either
California Nonresidential Permit Values Soft in January 

Now, personal income rose by +0.3% in January + personal spending increased by +0.4% in January, and employment is still low @ 5.7% - down 0.1% in January.
 Spending Mostly Up in January - so we’re still avoiding the “R” word - but the real estate headlines were downright depressing.
~~
California Nonresidential Permit Values Soft in January

The January nonresidential permit valuation data from the Construction Industry Research Board was also soft.  In Los Angeles County, industrial and office were down by 6.5% and 65.2% respectively, while retail rose by 166.9% over the year.  In Orange County, office and retail values were down, by 92.8% and 75.9%, respectively.  *** However, industrial permit values surged by 372.8% over the year to January. ***

Things were also weak in Riverside County in January, with industrial values down by 68.7% while retail slipped by 35.4%.  No office permits were issued during the month.  In San Bernardino County, retail permit values rose by 28.7% over the year to January.  However, industrial and office both slipped, by 94.2% and 57.3%, respectively. 

No industrial permits were issued in San Diego County during January, while office and retail both declined, by 67.3% and 53.0%, respectively.  Ventura County also got a pass in January on industrial permits, and saw a 58.4% decline in office permits.  However, the retail sector rose by 12.2%. (http://laedc.org/economicinformation/e-edge.html#6)
~~ 

Jim Cramer of CNBC’s Mad Money says the Fed is going to have to bail out the real estate industry to save the economy…perhaps making a very valid point.
 

Bart Reinhard Becomes Head of AIR Commercial Real Estate Association

March 1, 2008 on 12:06 am | In FASCINATING INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE INFORMATION, FASCINATING INFORMATION, LENDERS + VENDORS, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

 Bart Reinhard Becomes Head of AIR Commercial Real Estate Association

“Nothing is more critical to the brokerage community in the cyclical real estate industry than timely and accurate property information…” observes   Bart Reinhard, the newly named the 40th president of the AIR Commercial Real Estate Association.
 Founded by visionary industry leaders in 1960 as the American Industrial Real Estate Association, AIR has since broadened its outreach while distinguishing itself.
  Reinhard is a 25-year real estate industry veteran who brings extensive brokerage and management experience to the leadership of AIR, having served as senior managing director of CB Richard Ellis’s Los Angeles North region before returning to brokerage.
 In his inauguration message he wrote, “Looking forward, 2008 may be a very challenging year. With the change in the market dynamics, information and knowledge will continue to be critical as we all attempt to maintain our competitive edge. AIR will be focusing on the following key objectives to insure you have the most up-to-date information:
 • The implementation of the new changes to the CDX format and its continual enhancement throughout the year.
 • The continual monitoring of the accuracy and timeliness of our data.
  • The official release of the “Office” data to the entire office brokerage community.
 • The improvement of the functionality of the WIN-AIR forms.”
 An AIR member for 15 years, Reinhard has served on its board of directors for the past seven years, holding posts as education vice chair, computer chair, marketing chair, multiple director/vice president, and long-range planning chair. The 48-year-old AIR, with headquarters in Downtown Los Angeles, comprises nearly 1,770 brokers in more than 400 offices in the five-county Los Angeles Metro area.
 Reinhard sites expanding membership as one of this year’s goals. Since 2004, AIR’s membership has increased from 1,470 to 1,769, and from 350 to 406 offices.
During 2008 the objective for the organization is to intensify its membership outreach. He notes that this includes the addition of board members for greater demographic coverage, the roll-out of office data for Los Angeles County, making all industrial properties in the area available via an Internet-based property data system and the provision of all AIR data via hand-held devices.
 Joining Reinhard as 2008 officers are Douglas C. Earnhart, senior vice president at Lee & Associates in Ontario, who is president-elect and long-range planning chair; Chuck Noble, founding principal of Lee & Associates-Orange, who is vice president and multiple chair; Joseph Vargas, executive managing director and area leader at Cushman & Wakefield, who is Southern California education vice president; and David M. Harding, senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis in Universal City, who is secretary/treasurer.
Reinhard, a senior vice president in the Ontario office of CBRE, succeeds Stan Mullin, as AIR president.