Yes, there are exceptions. I also understand that you want to have
some kind of stopgap so as not to have undesirables proliferating. But
isn’t it time for the people owning/leasing the commercial real estate,
especially on the westside/downtown area of Bend, to take the cold
shower of reality?
Take a look at the rates these people are
still shooting for in the offices and stores, especially in the
downtown area of Bend. If your property is not in the top couple
percent of desirability you need to drop your initial asking prices
dramatically. The proliferation of ‘For Lease’ signs is exploding and
for good reason.
(Property owners) are not accepting the realities of what has happened and where we are heading. I have sympathy for the pain felt in having to accept this, but if you do not get with the program it is just going to get worse (actually, it already is). Remember, we had the dubious distinction of making Money Magazine’s ‘Most Overpriced Real Estate’ in the ENTIRE COUNTRY back in June 2007. Let’s not go from this to Tumbleweed, Oregon.
I am not saying we are the only town guilty of this, but that has little bearing on our reality. Geographically we are in a precarious position relative to the I-5 corridor cities of Oregon. So why not drop your rents until the vacancy is filled? If it does not rent next month, drop it again, and again. Talk to your current tenants and change their lease terms until they are sustainable. The last thing we need is for people to see vacancy after vacancy, especially when it is not necessary.
Think I don’t know what I am talking about? Well, there is one popular core downtown building that went from about 10 vacancies to close to half that in a couple weeks. How? They cut their monthly rates by 50% in one fell swoop. I just may go ahead and take them up on that.
Editor’s note: Global Insight actually named Bend the most overpriced housing market in June 2007. Money Magazine named Bend the fifth most overpriced real estate market in June 2006.
This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2009.
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I love how the back side of the Beck Bakery Building was torn down after evicting all the businesses back there. Now it is basically sitting empty. Smart.
I doubt that the owners of some of these properties even live in Bend. To them they are just an investment, they could care less if Bend becomes Tumbleweed,Oregon, it’s all about tax write offs.
the next crash will be commercial property. The cap rates are so low that one would be better off putting ones money into 6 month CD’s. Commercial properties are overpriced still by as much as 60% and if you think the housing market is bad, wait until the bottom falls out of the market here.
The people who take the worst beating are the ones that paid top dollar and went on the “blue sky promises” of their agents who told them that they were going to make decent money on their recently acquired commercial properties.
The rents downtown Bend were out of hand five years ago. If you wonder why so many are dropping out and closing down. Well then look at what one pays for 5000 feet of space in the area of NW. the lease rates are over 15 Grand and so a restaurant has to make a lot of food every month before they break even.
Greed and the love of money is the root of this evil force
It is time for the real estate brokers to get together and have a summit to take matters into their own hands. If they too want to maintain the existence of this place and their homes we have to have viable businesses. It is high time to reach and agreement that they will refuse to list properties above a certain rate. The owners of the buildings will not attempt to take on the realtors role enmasse.
Lets see now, how long has that new building next to the westside Fire Dept been vacant?…EVER SINCE IT WAS BUILT ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO!! Are these people brain dead???? You people are going to be the death of this place. Is there even an explanation for this?
Many commercial property owners are offering concessions, but want something in exchange like extending the lease or something. It’s two way street, nobody likes to offer something to a tenant and have them sneer that it’s not enough. I heard one guy offered a tenant to lower the rent no strings attached and the tenant threw it back in his face and wanted several times as much. My point is that there are always two sides of the issue. Sometimes the landlord only has so much he CAN do because of his own overhead.
The bottom line is that a landlord-tenant relationship has to be a give and take partnership where both parties are interested in each other’s success.