Commercial Real Estate Market Still Struggling, but it's not all Bad News, say MSI's North American Members

Laywers and accountants from MSI's North American member firms see reasons for optimism in country's commercial real estate market

In recent interviews with MSI Global Alliance's members in Salt Lake City, the difficult situation of the North American commercial real estate market was evident. However, there are certainly signs of life in the market, with MSI's attorney and CPA members in certain parts of the country reporting on a fairly optimistic note.

Even in Detroit where CPA Ron Silberstein of Silberstein Ungar reports commercial prices are 'way down', new investors are reportedly 'buying up buildings to renovate and are moving their companies into Detroit due to the low cost of property and occupancy.'

In Philadelphia, Scott Isdaner, a CPA at Isdaner & Company, is seeing fairly strong demand for class A office buildings. It is at the lower end of the commercial real estate spectrum where problems remain, though even some of these properties are, as Scott reports, 'starting to find tenants with lower rates as a result of some new investments coming into these buildings.'

In Toronto, it's quite a different picture. Brian Wynn, a lawyer at Gardiner Roberts, reports that 'a number of projects are doing quite well, with nothing being capped or stopped'. Brian highlights the fact that Donald Trump continues to build with a new tower and two other hotel condo towers having gone up in the last year.

In Chicago, attorney Mike Tuchman of Levenfeld Pearlstein comments that the 'commercial real estate partners in his firm are the busiest lawyers in the firm'. He also sees a clear divide among his local clients - those who are still recovering from the effects of the downturn, and those who are positioned to take advantage of development opportunites. According to Tuchman, there has been substantial repricing, but lending has eased up a little.

In Los Angeles, CPA Guarav Malhotra of Lucas Horsfall Murphy & Pindroh, reports a difficult situation with new commerical real estate prices down by 10-15%.

In Connecticut, attorney Chris Martin of Martin Chioffi, says commercial markets are 'surprisingly strong with some deep pocket players such as Goldman Sachs and GE Capital financing projects.'

Probably the most positive outlook appears to be in Montana, largely due to impact of the Bakken oil reserve in the eastern part of the state which is creating large demand for commercial and residential property. Bill Mills, a CPA at Montana accounting firm Anderson ZurMuehlen & Co comments as well as that the fact that 'there was no big upside means that there was no big downside' when the economy went into free fall.

To view all of the comments of MSI North American members on the health of the North American real estate market, take five minutes to view the video below:

For more information about how MSI's North American member firms can help your business in the real estate sector, please contact Giles Brake, MSI's Head of Marketing, or search our directory of member firms to find a member firm in your preferred city or state.

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