Source: Florida Real Estate Journal and Cushman Wakefield
“The economy on both the national and the local Tampa Bay fronts has been nothing short of bleak during the first half of 2009. The area unemployment rate continued on a steep incline, jumping to 10.6%, up by 4.7% from the unemployment rate recorded at this point in 2008.”
“….The market continues to struggle with increased vacancy and rising sublet availability. Both the Central Business District (CBD) and non-CBD vacancies continue to climb, with the market-wide overall vacancy rate reaching 18.6% by the close of the second quarter of 2009. This is a slight seven-tenths of a percentage point increase over the first quarter, but a much more significant 5.0 percentage point spike from the same time last year.”
Comments: If you are a tenant searching for property, this is a great time. Keep in mind, Landlords are much more willing to negotiate free rent as opposed to lower rent. Lowering the base sets an adverse precedent in future negotiations with you and other tenants. Most landlords will have to renegotiate their mortgages in the next few years and it is much easier to explain free rent than reduced rent. Reduced rents can make a forward looking income statement look pretty ugly to a banker.
We have found deals as good as 6 to 12 months of free rent, for medium term leases (3-5 years).
Tampa Area Unemployment and Office Vacancy Continue to Climb
Source: Florida Real Estate Journal and Cushman Wakefield
“The economy on both the national and the local Tampa Bay fronts has been nothing short of bleak during the first half of 2009. The area unemployment rate continued on a steep incline, jumping to 10.6%, up by 4.7% from the unemployment rate recorded at this point in 2008.”
“….The market continues to struggle with increased vacancy and rising sublet availability. Both the Central Business District (CBD) and non-CBD vacancies continue to climb, with the market-wide overall vacancy rate reaching 18.6% by the close of the second quarter of 2009. This is a slight seven-tenths of a percentage point increase over the first quarter, but a much more significant 5.0 percentage point spike from the same time last year.”
Comments: If you are a tenant searching for property, this is a great time. Keep in mind, Landlords are much more willing to negotiate free rent as opposed to lower rent. Lowering the base sets an adverse precedent in future negotiations with you and other tenants. Most landlords will have to renegotiate their mortgages in the next few years and it is much easier to explain free rent than reduced rent. Reduced rents can make a forward looking income statement look pretty ugly to a banker.
We have found deals as good as 6 to 12 months of free rent, for medium term leases (3-5 years).