Why are economists predicting that the economy will started coming back in the latter half of this year? Because, as I explain below, that’s when the cuts in interest rates and the fiscal stimuli will take hold and be reflected in our measurements of how the economy fares. I am already seeing a loosing up…

With nearly $18 million dollars worth of commercial building permits for the first quarter of 2008, Houston County keeps growing.  Highlights include the new Publix shopping center on the Perry Parkway and a new hotel on Fairview Drive in Perry. After more than a decade of planning the I-75 Frontage Road connecting Watson Boulevard and…

The Macon, Georgia downtown and suburban office real estate markets remained stable in 2007. According to Fickling & Company’s recent survey, including a comparison of almost 1,000,000 square feet of office space in Bibb County, the 2007 suburban office market remained virtually unchanged. The suburban market maintained approximately 80% occupancy which is a slight decrease…

During 2007, the warehouse/industrial market was very active as well as the other commercial categories. The 2008 commercial real estate market, as other service categories, will be difficult to predict.  There are just two many unstable variables that could swing it in either direction. In 2007, the Bibb County industrial market remained basically unchanged from…

“Record growth” has become the catch phrase for Houston County.  The fourth quarter of 2007 brought wide-ranging construction projects from Best Buy and Walgreens, to new surroundings for Flint EMC and Lowe Toyota, as well as new dining options such as Olive Garden and seven other new  restaurants. Mayor Donald Walker and the Warner Robins…

In the twenty-seven some odd years I have been in the commercial real estate business, I have been asked quite frequently how we, in our profession, value property.  Things like “How do you value a piece of commercial property?”, “What do you think my property is worth?”, “How do I go about purchasing commercial property?”,…

Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked. – Warren Buffett Open any newspaper or turn on any news channel and you will hear the same thing:  The Real Estate market is doomed. Interest rates are beginning to rise while the numbers of new real estate buyers are shrinking.  Not to…

Macon’s newest Starbucks Coffee opened in Lullwater East on Bass Road in September, serving their delicious coffee drinks to great crowds. It is a beautiful store and complements our shopping center very nicely. I would invite you to stop in, if you have not already. The Starbucks Coffee associates are always friendly and, if asked,…

In our last article, we stated that we thought the housing market slump would continue through year end and start to stabilize in early 2008.  Unfortunately, there has not been any news that changes our belief.  Some of the recent statistics indicate that we may still be too optimistic. The Commerce Department reported on December…

As financial institutions are still trying to weather the storm from Subprime Mortgage Crisis, real estate investors should anticipate great challenges in 2008.  The instability in the financial markets has had a domino effect in the investment market for commercial real estate assets.  It first began with an impact on the lenders which moved right through…