Latest Commercial Real Estate Market News & Investment Advice in Los Angeles

US GDP Contracts By 1%, But Is It Ok?

April, 2014
by Karl Niehaus, President, CREI

Commercial Overview:

LARGE BIG BOX RETAILERS VANISHING as national tenants are not looking for new locations as they were in the past. Many operators, such as Borders, have shut down, or in the case of Best Buy, are downsizing. Aside from your largest retailers such as Walmart and Target, all other concepts have faded or evolved. The 40,000-square-foot retailers are becoming 20,000SF, and 20,000SF tenants are becoming 10,000SF. Restaurants and discount stores, however are doing very well....

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Retailers Selling More and More is Good For Real Estate. USA Economy has Recovered?

December, 2013
by Karl Niehaus, President, CREI

Commercial Overview:

REAL ESTATE RECOVERING? Commercial property sales through December 2013, found that the recovery in U.S. commercial real estate markets advanced in 2013 as broad gains in net absorption, rents, sales activity and pricing extended across markets and property types during the year. The upbeat performance was driven by relatively steady economic growth and job gains of 2.3 million or 1.7% in 2013. During the year, expanding businesses accounted for the highest aggregate net...

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Unemployment Rates Decrease

August, 2013
by Karl Niehaus, President, CREI

Commercial Overview:

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE IMPROVING, and according to bankers, demand for loans is increasing not just for refinancing but also for purchases and development. Fundamentals, economy and credit quality improvements have banks competing aggressively for loans. "We're seeing all cylinders hitting at this particular point," William Rogers, CEO - SunTrust, noted, "We're up 35% since the end of 2012, 10.5% this quarter. So I just think you're going to continue to see good growth...

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5 Top Commercial Property Repairs

June, 2013
by Karl Niehaus, President, CREI

Which Building Repairs are Necessary?
It really depends on the property and its particular needs. The fact is that there are few legally mandated items that MUST be done to purchase a property, but in our litigious society, here are prudent ways to take sensible precautions to protect yourself.

The Most Important Property Repairs are obviously safety related, for example:

1. Installing GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) outlets in all bathrooms, kitchens and laundries is highly...

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Major Indexes on Wall Street Hit Record Highs

April, 2013
by Karl Niehaus, President, CREI

Commercial Overview:

CONSTRUCTION REMAINS A NON-STARTER in U.S. Retail Market. The U.S. logged another historically low quarter for new retail supply to start 2013, with construction having little bearing on what is admittedly a glacial pace of recovery for the national retail market. Only 460 buildings comprising 7.87 million square feet of total retail space delivered in the first quarter of the year in select markets for which CoStar maintains historical statistics, according to the...

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Best Plumbing Tips for your Building

December, 2012
by Karl Niehaus, President, CREI

Potential Problems with Re-piping your Building

Plumbing maintenance is a big expense and unfortunately is often overlooked, especially in apartment buildings. The typical life for original galvanized piping is approximately 40 – 60 years, meaning plumbing in buildings built before 1970 is suspect (Copper water supply piping in California was started in the early 1960's and by 1970 was being used exclusively). Re-piping can elevate plumbing maintenance cost, yet there are things to...

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Jobs a Concern Going into 2013

December, 2012
by Karl Niehaus, President, CREI

Commercial Overview:

RETAIL HEADING TOWARDS LOWER VACANCY WITH FLAT RENTAL GROWTH: The 66.5-million-square-foot Los Angeles community-neighborhood shopping center market finished 2012 with low vacancy and low rental growth. Net absorption faltered towards the end of the year, but finished positive. We are seeing positive net absorption, along with flat rents. For community-neighborhood shopping center space, the outlook is for modest rent increases to be countered by a generally stable...

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Improving Property Fundamentals

August, 2012
by Karl Niehaus, President, CREI

Commercial Overview:

REAL ESTATE SALES IMPROVING? Commercial real estate pricing continued to recover despite the disappointing level of U.S. job growth and other economic factors. Gains have expanded from the best institutional-grade buildings to smaller and more general quality properties. The Commercial Repeat Sales Index which tracks investment grade and general commercial sale prices, posted gains in over year-ago levels, based on 853 repeat sales recorded and more than 100,000 repeat...

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Tips for Lowering Roofing Costs

May, 2012
by Karl Niehaus, President, CREI

Tips to Reduce the Cost of Repairing or Replacing Roofs

The roof is one of the single most expensive fixes on any commercial real estate building. The average flat commercial roof lasts approximately 15 – 20 years. The cost of replacing a roof at the end of its life is a big concern for owners. There is a method that can cut the cost down to roughly half of what traditional re-roofing costs - Cool Roofing.

1. Per the California Energy Commission "Cool roofs are highly reflective & use highly...

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Banking Sector Overall Has Substantially Improved

April, 2012
by Karl Niehaus, President, CREI

Commercial Overview:

INCREASED RETAIL SALES LEAD TO RENOVATION. As the retail industry begins to recover from the great recession, shopping centers are planning some major changes that aim to get consumers out of their homes and into the mall. From new developments to revamps and renovations, shopping centers are making improvements. The improvements come at a time of improvement for the retail industry. According to data derived from the US Department of Commerce, retails sales are expected...

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