[Muggy]

I recently read several articles that said commercial real estate was booming in Florida. Some of the articles cited "catching up to residential" growth as the reason. I recently visited some of the exurbs north of Tampa and they were building like crazy.

However, I was shocked yesterday when I drove around mid and north Pinellas County. Not only were there a lot of properties for lease, there were many for sale, or both. Moreover, some buildings in prime locations simply looked abandoned.

Is there a decreasing need? Or is it that the operating costs are too high (taxes & insurance)? We often talk about residential real estate and I am wondering if there are any commercial real estate agents or business owners that have an opinion that they would like to share.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/muggyFL/Build4Sale.jpg (broken link)

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/muggyFL/Lost.jpg (broken link)

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/muggyFL/SeeLDubs.jpg (broken link)

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/muggyFL/CLW.jpg (broken link)

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/muggyFL/LeaseSeminole.jpg (broken link)

Even the people that sell buildings seem to be selling their buildings.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/muggyFL/Karma.jpg (broken link)

[firemed]

“‘The National Association of Realtors is launching a $40 million advertising campaign to encourage Americans to buy houses amid the ongoing housing slump.’ NAR President Pat Vredevoogd Combs said that now is a good time for consumers to buy a home, given low interest rates and high inventories. ‘You can walk into a marketplace and have a choice what you buy,’ Combs said.’”

One note ad revenues. “I wonder if they are buying higher media weight levels in the more troubled markets. They also have that evr present guerilla PR budget called ‘we’ll pull our ad dollars from your outlet if we see any bad stories.’ I’m sure they use the ‘Good Time to Buy’ ad budget as a carrot and a stick for the media. Publishers will be pressuring editors no doubt.”

[BlueWillowPlate]

http://www.pierparkretail.com/

Pier Park in Panama City Beach is trundling along okay.
Once again, this is north Florida.
There has been some pulling back though. If there hadn't been, my husband would still have a job.

[LeavingFlorida05]

Florida's economy relies heavily on tourism. This means that it will have greater peaks and valleys. Right now, it's in a valley. The hurricanes of the past few years had a large impact. Tourism revenue is down. With 2006 being a hurricane reprieve, perhaps 2007 will be better, from a commercial standpoint.