Category: Building Operations
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The Real Estate Election in an Instructive Downturn
During this interim November election, I came to the realization that new beginnings start with new leadership. The nature of the “great unwashed” is that when things get tough and stay tough for a long time, the masses wait around for CHANGE. With change comes the inertia of a renewed sense of purposes and a chance for…
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Answers Arrive
Economies plunge. Clients cancel. Jobs disappear. Debts accumulate. Organizations contract. Tenants shrink. Cubes empty. Owners worry. Managers panic. Space gets spacious. Buildings remain. Maintenance awaits. Expenses loiter. Costs get costlier. Tenants demand. Inflation looms. Oil prices rise, then fall, then rise, then RISE! Transactions slow. Cap rates contract. Light bulbs go off. Managers manage. Engineers…
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Green Jobs are Good Jobs
The U.S Commercial Office market is suffering unprecedented vacancy rates which are expected to hit 18.6% in 2010 – close to the historic high of 19.3% set in 1990. We are facing a “jobless recovery” as employers focus on workforce efficiencies and try to do more with less…or fewer. Arthur Jones, Senior Economist, CBRE Econometric Advisors…
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Asset Appreciation Through Improved Operations
In a real estate down-cycle our asset valuation focus changes. The heyday of strong cap rates, rental rate growth and high transactions volumes caused asset managers to focus on high return through asset appreciation. Capital projects soared, borrowing soared, and valuations soared with them. It seemed like there was no ceiling to real estate values.…
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Over Here….Over Here.
The other day I read that there has been a recent and not insignificant uptick in foreign investment in the United States commercial real estate market. It appears that healthier pockets are looking to get back into what is traditionally a safe investment marketplace – US real estate. Costar Group just reported that a $200…
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Lock & Lode
Office rental rates are falling so lock in your tenants for the long term by sitting down at the table and negotiating lower rates now. Nationwide, effective office rents fell almost 9.0% in the third quarter compared with the same period a year ago. Office tenants returned approximately 20 million square feet of space to…
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Getting Things Done
As Building Engines has experienced tremendous growth over the past several years, my personal areas of management, responsibility, and associated tasks have grown along with it. Like many of the clients I speak with, I struggle with the challenge of managing my ever-increasing workload. The common conversation I have with myself is “how do I…
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Play Nice in the Sandbox
Synergy is a term used to describe a situation in which different entities cooperate advantageously – resulting in an improved final outcome. Simply put, it means that the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Opportunities to achieve synergy are presented every day and in all walks of life. People and businesses…
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Manage the News to Manage Your People
It has clearly been a difficult economic year for most people and businesses. The bad news has been continuous and every time there seems to be a sign that we may have turned the corner, another shoe drops. The real estate industry, including real estate owners and managers, has certainly not been immune from all…