Enough to Go Around

Enough to Go Around
July 2011


July has been a very busy month for the DPG team, which explains the infrequent blog posts. However, it has been a good busy to say the least. Before I discuss my writing, I'd like to briefly synopsize the rental market at present. By food group, we will touch on: multifamily, commercial & office property. And as I suggested in the title of this post, there is enough to go around.

Multifamily Housing
Occupancy rates are up, rental activity is up and although the economic outlook is bleak, our existing & market rental rates are rising simply due to the stable demand for rental housing in Orange County. Even with the low interest rates & depressed market values of single family housing, the barrier to entry remains too high for most would be homeowners. The result: increased rental income, downward trending capitalization rates and cash heavy investors looking to acquire additional assets.

Commercial
Commercial activity has come on strong and in fact, we have a waiting list nearly five slots deep for most of our space. Back from the dead has come the restaurant, small business retailer or other such boutique tenant that had all but disappeared the previous 3.5 years. Realize that my use of the word "strong" in the aforementioned description is used in the same manner in which you would describe a homerun hitter breaking out of a slump with a steady string of 1 for 4 games. Not thriving by any means, but certainly showing signs of life. Right now, there is big upside in the commercial market.

Office
With terms such as "centralized hub", "in the cloud" and "e-commute" becoming increasingly popular, it is no wonder the office market is so complex at present. Here, the word complex translates to "variable demand". New Gen-Y tenants are opting for less space and more technology. As such, the mid-sized space is perhaps the most difficult sell, and by mid-sized space I mean above 2,000 square feet, the demand for very small space or 250 to 500 square feet could not be hotter. It would appear as though many a savvy manager or owner have identified this trend and begun to wall up and dress down some of the larger, more sexy space previously occupied by a range of professional businesses from mortgage companies to attorneys to physicians, etc. Now is a great time to shop for office space, both for lease and purchase. Simply put, with leases on a discount, you are buying on a discount. If you have cash and like Orange County, office space is where you SHOULD be looking.

In a nutshell, you are up to date on the multifamily, commercial and office property types as of July 31, 2011. I can talk about student housing as well, but that's a whole 'nother beast. And while I have not been active on the blog, I have been working on the following:

- Apartment News Magazine: Article published in August 2011 issue entitled "Thriving in Turbulent Times"
- Journal of Property Management: Article (and feature article at that!) will run in the November/December 2011 issue
highlighting Due Diligence.
- Winning Property Management Strategies- My new book has been completed and is in print. More info once it is widely
available and past the "peer review" stage.
- I have been tapped to speak at two national, commercial real estate conferences in the fall.

On that note...

My first book "The Four Benefits: Commercial Real Estate Investing & You" has been officially published by the Institute of Real Estate Management here: http://www.irem.org/acb/stores/1/_font_color_FF0000_NEW_fo_P23743C1.cfm

But, I would much rather have you purchase it on your kindle or e-reader by clicking here:
http://www.amazon.com/Four-Benefits-Commercial-Investing-ebook/dp/B005DNHCC8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312131125&sr=8-1

I should point out that this a very stimulating beach read. And if you implement what I teach you, you will be able to spend more time on the beach, more time on vacation and less time dealing with the minutiae of the day-to-day grind. How's that for a guarantee?

The End of Free Advertising?

The End of Free Advertising?
By: Nicholas A. Dunlap, CPM


If you use Craigslist to advertise your rentals, you most likely have noticed the changes that have recently taken place. Going back nearly one year, the original layout had started to change until last week when the entire layout shifted. Now, the standard layout or home screen for Craigslist Account postings features four tabs: your postings, new postings, account settings & billing/accounting.

Those in the multifamily industry are certainly aware of the writing on the wall and that is: Craigslist will no longer be Free for property owners or landlords looking to advertise space for rent. This has been the talk for several years, but it appears that the time could be upon us. While the service continues to be free and is quite possibly one of the most effective methods of advertising for landlords, it will be interesting to see how the establish their rate structure once it becomes monetized. Will they charge per ad or per account? How long will the ads stay up for?

Just like with other services, it is likely that landlords will start looking elsewhere once costs increase. Will some of the other online or in-print advertisers be stepping up to compete for market share?