Stirling Sotheby’s Top Executive Says Housing Prices in Central Florida Stabilizing, Establishing a New Pricing Normal in The Market

ORLANDO - Central Florida’s housing slump may have bottomed out and housing prices are stabilizing, says one industry expert, though it may be some time before housing values begin to climb again.

Roger Soderstrom, founder and owner of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty in Orlando, said Central Florida’s five-year market decline has left prices down 40-60 percent from the market high and many home sellers have held off placing their homes on the market hoping for a recovery.

“Pricing stabilization has taken a long time, and price increases won’t be realized until sometime in the future,” Soderstrom said. “Home sellers who are holding off waiting for better market conditions may miss out on the greatest buying opportunity if they are looking to purchase a new residence,” he said.

While sellers may realize a lower price than they might hope for, they also have the opportunity to acquire another residence for much less than they could before.

“The market is adjusting and today we are at the point where we have a new pricing normal,” Soderstrom explained.

“Real estate remains a neighborhood business. Some neighborhoods with homes less distressed are performing better than other neighborhoods. Property owners who are selling in today’s market and repurchasing are finding themselves in a win-win situation,” he added.
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For more information contact: Roger Soderstrom, Founder/Owner Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty 407-581-7890; rsoderstrom@stirlingSIR.com

About Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty: Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty is affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, the largest luxury real estate brand in the world. Stirling Sotheby’s exclusive services include luxury residential, new homes, commercial, property management, in addition to supporting builders, developers, lenders, and asset managers. The company operates three performance zones which serve all of Central Florida. Visit www.StirlingSIR.com.

Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida Sees Faint Signs of Economic Recovery in Tampa Bay Region Quarterly Office Report

TAMPA - It’s not time to call out the marching bands, but second quarter results in the Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida Quarterly Office Trends Report for the Tampa Bay region spotted some local economic data that’s been missing for more than two years – positive absorption of office space.

Patrick Kelly, managing director of Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida in Tampa, said the Office Trends Report – an in-depth quarterly survey of office leasing and sales activities from Manatee County to Polk, including Hillsborough and Pinellas submarkets – showed positive absorption of office space in one Pinellas submarket and in all but one of the Hillsborough submarkets during the quarter.

“Market activity has clearly picked up,” Kelly said.

“It’s too early to call this a trend and the net numbers are small, but second quarter results fall on the positive side of the chart for the first time in the past 10 quarters,” Kelly said.

Positive absorption results when total square footage leased by tenants outpaces new construction. The Second Quarter Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida Quarterly Office Trends Report found only one major project under construction – an 88,000 square foot facility in the northeast Tampa submarket.

The Tampa Bay region posted an overall vacancy rate of 19.5 percent, up slightly from the first quarter results. Vacancy rates range from a high of 40 percent in the Pinellas County Bayside submarket, to a promising 10.6 percent in South Tampa. Tampa’s Central Business District posted a vacancy rate of 19.7 percent and Tampa’s Westshore submarket posted 21.9 percent vacancies.

Developers typically look for sustained vacancy in the 7-10 percent range before planning new construction, and that will take some time.

“But there’s a lot of silver lining,” Kelly explained. “Tenants are value shopping. That’s a big step forward. Some of them are relocating, a sign of market velocity,” he said.

Kelly said the spread between historical rents and discounted rents is luring innovators into the market. “Especially in Class B and Class C facilities, we’re seeing entrepreneurs come back into the market with new business plans,” Kelly said.

“These startups are the underpinning of our entire economy and we need to nurture them with appropriate incentives,” Kelly said.

About Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida: Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida is an affiliated commercial real estate services firm specializing in the leasing and sale of office, industrial, retail, land and investment properties. Currently Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida has 30 brokers divided among its Tampa, Orlando and Melbourne offices which serve the entire mid-Florida marketplace.

About Grubb & Ellis: Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE:GBE) is one of the largest and most respected commercial real estate services and investment companies in the world. Our 6,500 professionals in more than 100 company owned and affiliate offices draw from a unique platform of real estate services, practice groups and investment products to deliver comprehensive, integrated solutions to real estate owners, tenants and investors. The firm’s transaction, management, consulting and investment services are supported by highly regarded proprietary market research and extensive local expertise. Through its investment subsidiaries, the company is a leading sponsor of real estate investment programs that provide individuals and institutions the opportunity to invest in a broad range of real estate investment vehicles, including public non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), mutual funds and other real estate investment funds. For more information, visit www.grubb-ellis.com.

Obama Administration Should Expand Small Business Administration Lending to Spur Economic Recovery, Mercantile Capital Corp. CEO says

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS - The Obama Administration’s proposal to funnel $30 billion in TARP receipts to community banks to spur lending to small businesses could do more to help the economy if it focused on the U.S. Small Business Administration lending programs themselves, says Christopher G. Hurn, chief executive officer of Mercantile Capital Corporation in Altamonte Springs.

Hurn, whose company ranks as one of the leading providers of SBA 504 commercial loans to small business owners who want to acquire or develop their own facilities, said changes in SBA lending could go a long way toward growing the national economy.

“One of the things I’ve been saying for a few years is that the SBA 504 program should be used to refinance commercial real estate as well,” Hurn said. “You can’t do that with the program right now,” Hurn explained. “But as of Friday the 5th, the President seems to be on board with my proposal. We’ll see how quickly this solution can be put in place.”

Hurn gave the Obama administration high mark for its plan to eliminate capital gains tax on investments in small business.

“That’s phenomenal,” Hurn said. “We’ve finally seen a free market solution out of this President and this one actually would be good. That would be the kind of thing that will stimulate equity investments in the small business sector,” he said.

Hurn said many Obama administration proposals are problematic.

“The small business lending proposals are going to have mixed results,” Hurn explained. “Most community banks that have survived over the past 18 months have better capital ratios than large national banks, are relatively flush with capital and yet they’re lending less of their capital.

“Providing them up to five percent of their weighted assets to lend to small business customers at interest rates in the low fives to seven percent, doesn’t provide enough profit to cover the banks’ overhead. The only community banks that will be interested in this program are the ones that aren’t doing as well,” Hurn said. “Healthy community banks probably aren’t going to participate,” he said.

The $5,000 jobs credit is also troublesome, Hurn said. “If you’re a smart business person you’re not going to hire somebody for a position for something that you don’t have a demand for in your products and services just in order to get the job credit,” Hurn said.

The plan may benefit companies that are already expanding, but too few companies are expanding in this economy, he said.

“Expense reductions for equipment purchases also falls flat,” Hurn said.

“If you are a company that’s buying equipment, it helps you, but it doesn’t really get to the underlying problem affecting most small businesses in America that are struggling right now,” he said.
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For more information about this press release contact:

Chris Hurn, CEO, Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040 or Geof Longstaff, Chairman, Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040

Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida Relocates Melbourne Office

MELBOURNE, Fla. --- Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida, with offices in Orlando, Tampa and Melbourne, has relocated its Melbourne headquarters from U.S. 1 to new suites at 2108 West New Haven Ave. (U.S. 192) in West Melbourne.

Jeff Sweeney, SIOR, president of Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida, said the firm has expanded its offices and expects to see an increase in commercial real estate activity in the Melbourne area.

“Commercial real estate activity follows the economy,” Sweeney said. “We’re seeing an increase in activity that can be attributed to economic recovery, but we’re also seeing activity related to the recession, such as distressed properties, tenants relocating and commercial property foreclosures,” he said.

About Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida:
Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida is an affiliated commercial real estate services firm specializing in the leasing and sale of office, industrial, retail, land and investment properties. Currently Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida has 40 brokers divided among its Orlando, Melbourne and Tampa offices to serve the entire mid-Florida marketplace.

About Grubb & Ellis:
Named to The Global Outsourcing 100™ in 2009 by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals™, Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE) is one of the largest and most respected commercial real estate services and investment companies in the world. Our 6,000 professionals in more than 130 company-owned and affiliate offices draw from a unique platform of real estate services, practice groups and investment products to deliver comprehensive, integrated solutions to real estate owners, tenants and investors. The firm’s transaction, management, consulting and investment services are supported by highly regarded proprietary market research and extensive local expertise. Through Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors, the company is a leading sponsor of real estate investment programs that provide individuals and institutions the opportunity to invest in a broad range of real estate investment vehicles, including public non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), tenant-in-common (TIC) investments suitable for tax-deferred 1031 exchanges and other real estate investment funds. For more information, visit www.grubb-ellis.com.
Contact: Jeff Sweeney, SIOR President 407-481-5387

New Stimulus Effort Should Focus on Small Business, Business Incubators, Economic Gardening, says Incubation Expert

ORLANDO, Fla. --- The next step in stimulating the national economy’s recovery from the worst recession since World War II should focus on small business, business incubators and economic gardening, said Dr. Tom O’Neal, founder and executive director of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program.

“Most of the net new jobs in the U.S. are created by a relatively small number of small businesses,” Dr. O’Neal said.

“A stimulus package that targets small companies and support programs such as qualified business incubators and economic gardening efforts, would likely generate a substantially higher return on investment than other efforts that target the nation’s economic recovery,” Dr. O’Neal said.

Dr. O’Neal said that while current stimulus programs have shored up the nation’s financial system, investment capital programs targeting small and expanding business that would generate growth and new jobs isn’t forthcoming.

“Something to stimulate investment in small business would be huge right now,” Dr. O’Neal said.
“Incubation programs and economic gardening is a good investment, but the well is dry right now for expansion capital. Many sound, promising new businesses are poised for growth and expansion, but they don’t have access to capital to fund that growth,” Dr. O’Neal explained.

“They’re successful but they’re stuck. We need something to free up the capital markets and get the investment capital flowing again,” he said.

Dr. O’Neal, who recently received the Regional Outstanding Resource Partner Award from the Florida Small Business Development Center Network, said successful incubation programs help entrepreneurs shape promising business concepts into thriving enterprises that create new jobs and new revenues.

“We know how to identify startup enterprises with the highest chances of success, and we know how to accelerate their growth as sustainable companies,” O’Neal said.

“There is a lack in investment capital, and that’s where stimulus efforts could help the most,” he concludes.

For more information about this release contact:

Dr. Tom O’Neal, Executive Director, UCF Business Incubation Program, 407 882-1120, oneal@mail.ucf.edu;

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 or LvershelCo@aol.com.

About the UCF Incubation Program:

Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 130 emerging companies (including nearly 80 current clients) create over $500 million in annual revenue and more than 1600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With six facilities across the Greater Orlando community, the Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development between the University of Central Florida, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City of Winter Springs, The City of Sanford, Lake County, the City of Leesburg, and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. For more information, please visit http://www.incubator.ucf.edu/.

Personal Financial Advice that’s Critical: Take Charge of Your Own Funds, Learn How to Analyze Investments, says Glen Mather

Personal Financial Advice that’s Critical: Take Charge of Your Own Funds, Learn How to Analyze Investments, says Glen Mather, head of Entrust Administrative Services

ORLANDO, Fla. - Whether you’re 35 or 60, three things are certain in today’s economic climate: things aren’t the way they once were, you can’t trust anyone to manage your savings, and you must learn how to think for yourself.

Those are strong words, and they come from someone who should know: Glen Mather, president of Entrust Administrative Services, LLC, which administers more than 2,000 self-directed retirement accounts valued at more than $200 million.

“The handwriting’s on the wall and it’s a topic on just about every evening news program,” said Mather, whose company won’t offer investment advice, even when asked. “From financial meltdowns to financial scandals to economic downturns, it’s clear that people who want to save for their future, and especially for their retirement, must take charge of their own destiny,” Mather said.

That’s not easy in a world where Wall Street speculators and high-powered fund managers have upended markets, invented bubbles and shaken some of the bluest blue-chip corporations like rag dolls, Mather sympathized.

Mather doesn’t mean to point fingers. “That’s a job for the courts and the regulatory agencies,” Mather said. “Our goal is to educate, motivate and facilitate individuals who are making their own best decisions,” he said.

“Over the past few years we have seen an incredible amount of capital erosion,” Mather explained. “What we used to think of as safe bets have proved no more predictable than a Vegas roulette wheel. Real estate has shed 40 percent of its value, impacting good neighborhoods and benchmark commercial properties as much as the rest. Blue chip corporations, the bastions of the American economy, are filing for bankruptcy protection and standing in line for government bailouts. Some of the most trusted names in financial services are victims to greed and manipulation, threatening the financial security of our nation,” Mather said.

The only antidote is for each of us to mend our ways.

“It is imperative that we take control of our own financial future,” Mather warned. “If we simply hand our savings over to financial managers, don’t get involved, and wait for the returns to roll in, we may end up broke and hungry and---like 50 percent of people over the age of 65 today---working part or full-time through our retirement,” he said.

The antidote is education---lots of it.

“We have to learn the fundamentals of the financial markets. We have to learn how to analyze the news, read between the lines, and understand the difference between market indicators and marketing propaganda,” he said.

For more information, contact:
Glen Mather, President, Entrust Administrative Services, Inc. 407-367-3472; gmather@entrustfl.com
Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142 lvershelco@aol.com

George Livingston: Last Quarter was The Worst, This One will be Better, Positive Growth should start by December

George Livingston: Last Quarter was The Worst, This One will be Better, Positive Growth should start by December

MAITLAND, Fla. - The first quarter of 2009 was the worst of the recession, according to longtime area market analyst George Livingston, chairman emeritus of Orlando-area based NAI Realvest.

“The current quarter will be less bad, and we’re already seeing signs of improvement, but we won’t see positive growth until the last quarter of this year or the first quarter of next year,” Livingston said.

“Initial recovery will be slow, full recovery won’t occur until well into the next decade,” Livingston said.

“Consumer confidence is low but it is getting better, and the same can be said for business confidence,” Livingston said.

“Profits are improving in some cases. Banks should do better as we move forward and the third quarter should see broad improvement in corporate earnings,” he said.

Livingston said housing should bottom by year-end, and recovery will be slow due to the drag of foreclosures. “When the housing market recovers, we won’t see the sort of peaks we’ve seen in the past,” he said.

The reason? “Unemployment will continue to increase through year-end,” Livingston said. “Job creation will be slow."

Economic trends will continue to have a negative effect on most commercial real estate sectors, Livingston added, including retail, office, warehouse and distribution.

“Rental apartments should be among the first to recover,” Livingston said.

For more information please contact:
George Livingston, Chairman Emeritus, NAI Realvest 407-875-9989 glivingston@realvest.com;

Janice Paiano, Director of Marketing, NAI Realvest jpaiano@realvest.com

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

About NAI Realvest:
NAI Realvest, covering all of Central Florida, is a fully integrated commercial real estate operating company specializing in brokerage, development, investment, leasing and management, consulting and research services in the U.S. and worldwide. NAI Global is an international commercial real estate network with over 325 offices spanning the globe. Since 1978, clients have built businesses on the power of NAI Global’s expanding network. Extensive services include multi-site acquisitions and dispositions, sublease, tenant representation, lease administration and audit, investment services, due diligence and related consulting and advisory services. To learn more, visit http://www.nairealvest.com/.

ICI Homes Chairman Hosseini optimistic about housing recovery

ICI Homes Chairman Hosseini optimistic about housing recovery

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – April is shaping up to be the best month for ICI Homes sales in the last three years, Mori Hosseini, chairman and CEO of the homebuilding company told the national audience on CNBC’s daily TV show Mad Money hosted by Jim Cramer earlier this week.

Cramer has been insisting that the hard data supports his conclusion that the housing market will bottom out in June of this year despite continued media commentary to the contrary. So he decided to reach out to one of the nation’s hardest hit markets – Florida, and to one of the nation’s largest privately-held homebuilders to get his perspective. Hosseini and Cramer discussed the state of the industry.

"Prices of homes stopped dropping in February and the velocity of sales picked up dramatically,” Hosseini said. “We are cautiously optimistic that we are coming out of the downturn and the worst is behind us.”

Hosseini has good reason to be optimistic. Traffic to the ICI sales centers has spiked in recent weeks, he said.

“There is demand out there because we cut our prices to their lowest levels in many years. Savvy buyers recognize tremendous value when they see it, so they’re finally getting off the fence, taking advantage of historically low interest rates and getting back into the market…and that’s good news for us.”

When asked why he thought the media was under reporting this shift in activity, Hosseini explained to Cramer and his audience that the media has always been a lagging indicator in any building recovery and it may be six to seven months into the rise of activity before the media starts reporting positive news.

Cramer closed the segment lauding Hosseini’s positive comments which he strongly indicated supports his theory that the housing bottom is nearing.

For more information, contact:
Lisa A. Egle, Marketing Manager ICI Homes-Daytona Beach, 386-236-4273

Rosemary Messina, VP Sales & Marketing ICI Homes, 386-236-4231

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

About ICI Homes
ICI homes, ranks among the top 100 Builders by Builder magazine and is one of the largest privately owned homebuilder in the US. The 30-year-old firm builds new homes and resort facilities in the Volusia-Flagler region as well as Northeast Florida, Orlando and Tampa.

Entrust Administrative Services Posts Record Growth In March

Entrust Administrative Services Posts Record Growth In March

LAKE MARY, Fla. - Entrust Administrative Services, Inc., which administers more than 2,000 self-directed retirement funds worth more than $200 million from offices in Lake Mary, Boca Raton and Jacksonville, reported record growth in March.

Glen Mather, president of Entrust Administrative Services, said the company enrolled 61 new accounts in March worth an estimated $5 million.

Since Jan. 1, Entrust Administrative Services has enrolled 115 new accounts with an estimated value of $11 million.

“March ranks as our third best month since we opened our doors in 2003,” Mather said.

“Given current economic conditions, more people are taking control of their retirement accounts and making their own their investments,” Mather said. “We see this as an indication that American citizens are beginning to play a more important role in the direction of economic recovery,” Mather said.

For more information contact:

Glen Mather, President Entrust Administrative Services, Inc. 407-367-3472 gmather@entrustfl.com;

Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142 lvershelco@aol.com

Small Bay Partners, LLC, Succeeding Despite Economy Downturn

Small Bay Partners, LLC, Succeeding Despite Economy Downturn

ORLANDO, Fla. - Small Bay Partners, LLC, the Orlando-based company that specializes in developing small bay industrial facilities for business users of 2,000 to 20,000 square feet of space, has continued to grow despite a sagging economy.

Howard Schieferdecker, one of the founders and principals of Small Bay Partners, LLC, said good planning is the reason.

“Our master strategy has always been to limit debt on our properties,” Schieferdecker said.

“When we saw the problems coming in late 2007 and early 2008, we did everything we could to reduce debt as much as possible, so most of the property that we have now is owned free and clear,” he said.

Small Bay currently owns a 16-acre Apopka parcel that is slated for future development, Monroe CommerCenter IV in Sanford, with 73,650 square feet of warehouse condominium space; and Poinciana CommerCenter, which is under development now with 120,000 square feet.

“The key to surviving downturns is to avoid excessive debt on development projects,” Geof Longstaff, another principal of Small Bay Partners, explained.

Small Bay Partners is also well capitalized.

“We have quite a bit of cash in the bank to hold us. If there is a problem that comes up, we have plenty of funds to take care of it until the market turns,” he said.

For more information contact
Howard Schieferdecker, Principal Small Bay Partners, LLC 407-702-3131, haschief@aol.com;
Geof Longstaff, Principal Small Bay Partners, LLC - 407-786-5040; glongstaff@mercantilecc.com;
George Livingston, Principal, Small Bay Partners LLC - 407-857-9989 glivingston@realvest.com;
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142