Cloudy Commercial Real Estate Market Starting to Show Silver Lining, More Investors Seeking Deals, Says Real Estate Expert Rachel Wein of WeinPlus

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. --- Commercial real estate — typically a lagging indicator of economic vitality — is starting to show signs of recovery, says one expert.

Rachel Elias Wein, AIA, founder and principal of WeinPlus Real Estate Advisory Services in St. Petersburg, recently returned from the International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual Re-Con Convention, which drew an estimated 30,000 real estate brokers, developers and retailers to Las Vegas.

Billed as the nation’s annual gathering of commercial real estate dealmakers, Re-Con was just that, Wein said.

“I’ve never seen so many principals and top executives looking for deals,” Wein said.

“Development deals, anchor tenant deals, power broker deals, retailers shopping market demographics, and the bread and butter of retailers, it was very encouraging,” Wein said.

Wein said commercial real estate developers and retailers are showing signs of improved confidence that improved economic conditions are eminent.

“I think the industry is seeing pent up demand from all sides,” Wein said. “The convention was an energetic, exhausting and entirely optimistic experience,” she said.

President Obama’s Housing Recovery Plan deserves a chance to Succeed---and it might, says leading Realtor Roger Soderstrom

President Obama’s Housing Recovery Plan deserves a chance to Succeed---and it might, says leading Realtor Roger Soderstrom

ORLANDO, Fla. - President Obama’s recently announced housing recovery plan may succeed in stabilizing the U.S. housing market and re-energizing the home building industry, says one of Central Florida’s leading real estate analysts.

Roger Soderstrom, founder and owner of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, one of the area’s largest real estate companies, said he thinks Americans may be surprised at how quickly the housing market returns.

“We won’t ever see a return to 2005 levels of activity,” Soderstrom cautioned. “That was a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon and we’re paying for it now,” he said.

But, Soderstrom said, both housing values and new home construction are likely to see upswings as a result of President Obama’s recovery plan. And the whole world is waiting for it.

“Housing is the key to U.S. economic recovery and the U.S. is the lynchpin of the global economy,” Soderstrom said. “We have extensive contacts with international investors and vacation home buyers awaiting the U.S. recovery so they can get back into the market here,” he said.

President Obama announced plans to allocate $75 billion in TARP funds to help lenders modify distressed mortgage loans.

“That’s a good first step,” Soderstrom said. “If it is applied conscientiously it could prove a major shot in the arm for the housing market by encouraging home owners when they need it,” he said.

An additional $200 billion---from funding previously authorized by Congress---will spur Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to move in the same direction.

“By any measure, $275 billion is a substantial effort,” Soderstrom said.

“Past policies---in the context of all the other financial shortfalls---have been disastrous and the sooner we can refocus on sound business policies that include both public and private sectors, the sooner we will encourage Americans to renew their faith in American real estate as a sound investment for the future,” Soderstrom said.

The key, Soderstrom said, will be to reshape the housing industry as a secure long-term investment.

“We shouldn’t look at housing as an investment commodity to earn short-term profits,” Soderstrom said. “That’s an abuse of the system and it’s the reason we’re in this mess.”

“For more than half a century, American real estate has stood as the most reliable long-term security a family could invest in,” Soderstrom said. “That’s what’s made this country such a financial powerhouse, and that’s what will lead the world economic recovery in the years ahead,” he added.

For more information contact

Roger Soderstrom, Founder/Owner Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty 407-588-1260

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142

Home-Building Recovery Will Start This Year And Active Adults Will Lead The Way

Home-Building Recovery Will Start This Year And Active Adults Will Lead The Way

Central Florida homebuilders could see the start of a dramatic recovery as early as this summer, and retirement-aged adults will lead the way.

Despite seemingly endless news cycles devoted to our national economic ailments, we forget the enormous size and scope of the fabled “baby boom” generation.

I don’t mean to discount our national economic cycle. But we shouldn’t discount our active adults either. Most of them are pretty smart, after all, and many of them saw this coming.

As a real estate developer who focuses on superior lifestyles for active adults at Providence Golf and Country Club community in the Loughman-Davenport area of Polk County and Wyndham Lakes Estates in south Orlando, I’m very familiar with the lifestyle preferences, spending habits and financial acumen most retirement-aged adults possess.

We anticipate the net in-migration of active adults will increase substantially starting this summer, and we expect the active adult market will lead a major recovery of the home building industry in Florida---especially Central Florida---that will hit its stride in 2010.

The recovery will be more measured than the recent housing boom, and that’s a good thing. We won’t see a return to 2005 levels of sales and construction, but we won’t see the subsequent ballooning of materials costs, pricing, taxes, insurance and accompanying expenses either.

What we will see is a return to strong, sustainable levels of activity the Central Florida region is known for.

Economic analysts at ABD Development Company anticipate a rebound in the U.S. securities markets resulting from economic stimulus programs the new presidential administration has already announced.

The securities markets---stocks and bonds---are usually referred to as ‘leading indicators’ of economic health. In this case, they are a sign of better times to come.

The President’s emphasis on tax cuts for the middle class are particularly promising.

Once our immediate crisis begins to wane, lower interest rates and exceptional values that are evident in almost every Florida market will generate sustainable growth rates led by the active adult segment.

Typically, when an economic cycle starts to improve, it gathers steam rapidly. Adults who may have postponed their retirement a year or two will join adults who are just now reaching retirement age to produce what builders and developers call ‘pent-up demand.’

As much as we might worry about the national economy, the baby boom generation represents enormous financial depth. Active adults are still retiring---you can’t stop the clock---and for a significant proportion of them, Florida’s warm climate and relatively affordable lifestyle opportunities are just the ticket.

Certainly baby boomers have more opportunities than ever before, and for some, North Carolina, Arizona, and other parts of the country are appealing. But Florida’s century-old heritage as a retirement mecca is still a compelling factor we sometimes overlook in our spates of hand-wringing.

For Florida homebuilders, the market cycle has been particularly painful. But builders and developers who took measures to prepare for the inevitable market slowdown are surviving, if not thriving.

Before we know it---before the end of 2009, to be sure---the housing market will come back wiser, healthier, and more sustainable than before.

Builders and developers are looking forward to it. But the biggest beneficiaries are home buyers.

Providence Golf and Country Club community will accommodate some 4,800 new homes when the community is completed in 2018. Some 500 new homes have been sold at Providence and 1,700 new homes are planned in 20 different neighborhoods in the first phase of the development.

For More Information Contact:

David Kohn, President ABD Development Company, 407-370-6400

Lake Nona area commercial development will play leading role in Central Florida’s economic recovery, says John Crossman, retail property expert

Lake Nona area commercial development will play leading role in Central Florida’s economic recovery, says John Crossman, retail property expert

ORLANDO, Fla. - Commercial development in the Lake Nona area will play a leading role in Central Florida’s economic recovery, says a prominent retail property broker who is a frequent lecturer in college and university real estate programs.

“Central Florida has long relied on its thriving tourism and services industries as our hedge against downturns in economic cycles,” said John Crossman, CCIM, president of Crossman & Company commercial real estate and one of the leading retail property brokers in the region.

“Commercial development in the Lake Nona area, which centers on medical research, health care and medical facilities, will change the face of Central Florida and add an enormous engine to our local economy,” Crossman said.

The University of Central Florida College of Medicine and the Burnham Institute for Medical Research facilities that are under development now provide a tremendous incentive for new and innovative development in the region that will include retail, restaurants, and a wide range of services, Crossman said.

“A decade ago the Central Florida job base was centered on the tourism corridor from International Drive to Disney and the U.S. 192 area,” said Crossman.

“Ten years from now we will have another job center that will be just as prominent, and it will focus on the Lake Nona area. The advantages in East Orlando will be that much of this new development is upscale, with higher technology and higher paying jobs,” Crossman said.

“Whether you are a Starbucks barista or a medical student about to launch your professional career, east Orlando in general and the Lake Nona area in particular are where you want to look,” Crossman said.

For more information please contact:

John Crossman, CCIM, President, Crossman & Company, 407-581-6218

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

About Crossman & Company

Crossman & Company is one of the largest third-party retail leasing and management companies in Central Florida, based upon the total number of retail square footage. Founded in Orlando, Fla. in 1990, Crossman & Company is a full service commercial real estate firm that advises its clients in leasing, management, development and investment sales of retail and office properties. Please visit http://www.crossmanco.com/, or call 407.423.5400 for more information.