Southern California Industrial Real Estate Blog

Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board Proposes New Fees and Restrictions on Land

Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board Proposes New Fees and Restrictions on Land

The Regional Water Quality Control Board Los Angeles Region, which governs stream in LA and Ventura Counties, is renewing the Urban Storm Water Permit for Ventura County that will be replicated in 2009 in Los Angeles County permits. The Environmental Protection agency has indicated that they want consistency in permits across all southern California Counties. This permit contains significant new controls for how renovation, construction and development occur, in addition to numerous restrictions on the cities in Ventura County. For example, the permit:

• Restricted grading on any slope more than 20% for 6 ½ months out of the year.
• Contains low impact development requirements that will make infill and redevelopment more difficult.
• Will force storm water systems to be implemented on individual lots, which dedicates portions of homeowners’ yards to storm water management and prevents them from using that space for other purposes, such as a patio or a pool.
• Will cost $600 per household with per door for multifamily to implement.

For more detailed information please visit http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/losangeles/water_issues/programs/stormwater

For more info on the Action Apartment Association, please visit www.action-wam.com

NAR PREDICTS THE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET

The commercial real estate market has been limping along since the subprime fallout earlier this year, but since it takes an act of god to purchase a commercial property without a bare minimum of 10% down (an SBA loan where the property appraises), the lack of activity much more market jitters and loan oversight panic. All things considered, commercial real estate has been the relative bright spot on the real estate landscape.

 

According to Commercial Leading Indicator for Brokerage Activity index published by the National Association of Realtors^®, the commercial market slowed 0.9 percent to an index of 117.9 in the second quarter from a reading of 119.0 in the first quarter, and is 2.1 percent lower than the record 120.5 in the second quarter of 2007; . (An index of 100 is defined as the level of commercial real estate market activity during the first quarter of 1990, the first period to be analyzed in this manner.)

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, noted that commercial real estate activity, as measured by net absorption and the completion of new commercial buildings, is projected to weaken over the next six to nine months. “The pace of decline has intensified due to job cuts and very sluggish economic activity since the beginning of the year, particularly in those industries requiring commercial building spaces,” he said. “We anticipate the weakest commercial brokerage activity in nearly three years as a result.”

NAR’s commercial leading indicator is a tool to assess market behavior in the major commercial real estate sectors. That index incorporates 13 variables that reflect future commercial real estate activity, weighted appropriately to produce a single indicator of future market performance, and is designed to provide early signals of turning points between expansions and slowdowns in commercial real estate.

The next commercial real estate market report and forecast is scheduled for release on September 17, and the next commercial leading indicator index will be released November 20.

 

 

Info courtesy of http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2008/commercial_real_estate_index?&WT.mc_id=LS082008&DCSext.CAT=Comm

 

NEW MARKET TERMS

NEW MARKET TERMS

We get lots of interesting email…this one, from Sanddra ay Costalife Services rollover@costalifeservices.com  gives us a chuckle…

BULL MARKET — A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius.

BEAR MARKET — A 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no allowance and the wife gets no jewelry.

VALUE INVESTING — The art of buying low and selling lower.

BROKER — What my broker has made me.

STANDARD & POOR — Your life in a nutshell.

STOCK ANALYST — Idiot who just downgraded your stock.

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR — Past year investor who’s now locked up in a nuthouse.

PROFIT — An archaic word no longer in use.

WHERE IN THE WORLD DOES REAL ESTATE COST THE MOST?

WHERE IN THE WORLD DOES REAL ESTATE COST THE MOST?

In 1998, Moscow was in crisis…very much like the rest of the world is right now. A decade ago in Moscow, 100,000+ Russian citizens took to the streets as a slew of banks–and the life savings of millions of citizens–went bust.

But, the global commodities boom of the past decade has made Russia flush with cash; the ruble has appreciated 8% against the dollar since January. And Moscow has become the most expensive city in the world to live.

As Forbes magazine reports, in Mercer’s 2008 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, Moscow tops the list with a score of 142.4, up 6% from last year–and 42% higher than New York, the most expensive city in the U.S.

Moscow is followed closely by Tokyo; London; Oslo, Norway; and Seoul, South Korea.

Forbes notes that New York fell from No. 15 to No. 22, because of the dollar’s recent woes. Los Angeles is the second-priciest city in the U.S., No. 55, on the world list -  behind Lagos, Nigeria (No. 30); Almaty, Kazakhstan (No. 44); and Zagreb, Croatia (No. 49).

“The decline in the ranking of all U.S. cities is due to the weakening value of the U.S. dollar against most major world currencies,” says Mercer’s Mitch Barnes, a principal at the firm. “The dollar has been declining steadily for the past several years, which has resulted in an overall decrease in the cost of living in 19 U.S. cities, relative to other major global cities studied.”

Get the original @

http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/23/cities-expensive-world-forbeslife-cx_zg_0724expensivecities_slide_2.html?thisspeed=20000

266,396SF ON THE ALAMEDA CORRIDOR GOES FOR $31.5M

266,396SF ON THE ALAMEDA CORRIDOR GOES FOR $31.5M

Lowe Enterprises Investors has acquired a fully leased 266,396-sf distribution facility in Central Los Angeles for $31.5 million, illustrating a continuing demand for warehouse and distribution space in the Los Angeles Basin.

The property, located @ 2652 Long Beach Ave. in the Alameda Corridor, and is fully leased until mid-2010.

Bleecker Seaman, managing director at Lowe Enterprises Investors, describes the “consistently in high demand” for space in the Central Los Angeles submarket, which “is the center of the region’s food and produce industry as well as the hub of the area’s distribution network,” he points out.

Lowe bought the complex from an institutional owner on behalf of an investment client.
Plans call for an additional investment of more than $5 million in the facility to improve its common areas and office space and to enhance its functionality for food and produce businesses. The building offers the flexibility to subdivide it into smaller spaces to accommodate multiple tenants, and parts of the facility may be adapted for cold food storage in the future.Get all the dirt @ http://www.cityfeet.com.

California Recycles is offering FREE pick ups in October

California Recycles is offering FREE pick ups in October

Today’s public service announcement…

It’s good to be green, everyone wants to do nice things for you. California Recycles is offering free pick ups for businesses and residence during the month of October in the following areas:

October 13
Downtown LA
Please RSVP by noon on October 9th to be included on our schedule.October 15
Santa Monica and West Los Angeles
Please RSVP by noon on October 13th to be included on our schedule.

October 21
Woodland Hills and Calabasas
Please RSVP by noon on October 17th to be included on our schedule.

October 24
Beverly Hills and West Hollywood
Please RSVP by noon on October 22th to be included on our schedule.

All Items need to be together and ready for pick up.

To be included in the Free Pick Up please RSVP by sending your completed pick up request form http://www.californiarecycles.com/request.htm via email to info@californiarecycles.com of by fax to 310-478-3005.

http://www.erealinvestor.com

 http://www.erealinvestor.com

offers online tools that function as a sort of next-generation finance calculator in allowing professional investors and average home buyers to gauge monthly expenses in deciding whether a property is a good investment.Compare and Analyze more than 100,000 properties nationwide across all major residential real estate investment categories using our patent-pending flagship software. All you do is click.

THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO MOTIVATE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY OWNERS TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMMISSIONS

THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO MOTIVATE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY OWNERS TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMMISSIONS

Fascinating government statistics for you to ponder – in 2005, commercial buildings used 18% of the energy nationwide and generated 15% of greenhouse gas emissions. The Department of Energy reports that in a typical office building, energy use accounts for 30% of operating costs - the largest single category of controllable costs.
Fascinating government statistics for you to ponder – in 2005, commercial buildings used 18% of the energy nationwide and generated 15% of greenhouse gas emissions. The Department of Energy reports that in a typical office building, energy use accounts for 30% of operating costs - the largest single category of controllable costs.

 

 Statistics in hand, the federal government is encouraging developers to capitalize on new technologies to reduce energy consumption. So enthusiastic is the government (prior to the Demise of Lehman Bros. + the buyout of AIG), that the US Department of Energy launched the latest in a series of initiatives - Zero-Net Energy Commercial Building Initiative (CBI) and established the National Laboratory Collaborative on Building Technologies (NLCBT) in the hope of developing zero-net energy commercial buildings by 2025.
This movement stems from this year’s DOE Energy Saving Assessment of the nation’s largest industrial facilities. It was the 500^th of such assessment – and 10,000 points of light most have clicked on in somebody’s head. These assessments reportedly have helped companies identify opportunities to save more than 80 trillion British Thermal Units (BTUs) of natural gas–roughly equivalent to the natural gas used in about one million American homes. If all of the recommendations from the assessments are implemented, the DOE estimates the properties would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by seven million metric tons and save their owners more than $800 million in energy costs annually.
The DOE is also spearheading the creation of Commercial Building Energy Alliances (CBEAs), which are designed to minimize the energy and environmental impact of commercial buildings and help property owners reduce energy costs. Dru Crawley, team leader, Commercial Buildings R&D for the DOE’s Building Technology Programs, says the goal is to showcase best practice technology demonstrations, set standards and encourage support for mass production of promising processes and products.

Info from:

http://www.globest.com/news/1238_1238/insider/173731-1.html