Commercial Real Estate Archives

It has been a relatively decent year for commercial real estate in Philadelphia this year according to the Federal Reserve Board, and the latest numbers show that the year will finish by continuing its trend of modest gains for the city’s market.

In our previous post, we began looking at ways landlords can raise the value of commercial real estate. So far, we’ve mentioned raising rent, lowering operating expenses, upgrading the property, changing the use of the property. In addition to these possibilities, it is also possible to upgrade the physical structure of the property, such as adding services like a cleaning company, conference rooms, a fitness center, and so on.

One of the interesting aspects of commercial real estate, when compared to residential real estate, is that it is relatively easy to increase its value. This means that commercial property owners have more control over creating value in their property than homeowners do. So what are some ways commercial property owners can raise the value of their property?

Since the economic slowdown, there has been a pullback from real estate investing, but things have recently begun to pick up in real estate. Even the likes of Warren Buffet are noticing the trend and taking advantage of it.

Two of the most prominent developers in the Philadelphia area, after working on projects together since 2010, are now locked in a legal battle involving allegations that one siphoned money from two projects the other had undertaken and excluded him from another project. The plaintiff in the case seeks $1.4 million in damages and the right to inspect documents related to each of the three projects. The defendant in the case has called the allegations unfounded.

According to a recent study, faulty property appraisals-thought to be behind excessive purchase prices in various markets-may be a common occurrence in the commercial real estate market. The study, which used data from thousands of securitized real estate bonds in which properties were foreclosed and liquidated, found a substantially wide discrepancy between appraisal values and sales prices on properties examined.

It isn’t often that a national perspective on the real estate market is offered. For the most part, those in the profession tend to focus on commercial, construction, residential or some other specialized market.

Partial interest real estate deals are apparently on the rise in Manhattan, accounting for 63 percent of the $15.7 billion spent in Manhattan office transactions in 2011. That number is up from 19 percent back 2007, when the market was at its height.

Costs will soon rise for businesses in Philadelphia, after the city council opted to raise business and property taxes last week. The decision was make last Thursday to implement a budget which collects almost $40 million more for the School District, which is all but insolvent. Each proposal is projected to raise $20 million for the district.

San-Francisco-based real estate search engine NeighborCity recently lauched AgentMatch, a service advertised as seeking to connect high quality real estate agents with home sellers and buyers. According to a recent Philadelphia Inquirer article, though, the new search engine may not be entirely accurate about agents’ qualifications. Part of the issue is suspected to be that the website is not correctly identifying townhouses as condos. In Philly’s older rowhouse neighborhoods, townhouses can be condominiums but are rarely so.