Dallas Commercial Real Estate Market Does A Rebound

Dallas City in Texas continues to experience steady growth in its real estate industry notably on the commercial side. This is not really a wonder as Dallas is a large city which accommodates several huge industries consisting of the petroleum, transportation, banking, information technology and telecommunications sectors. But despite the growing economy, Dallas remains to be among the most affordable cities in the U.S., according to Forbes.

The Dallas Texas real estate industry has also maintained its momentum since it began experiencing its booming days back in the 1980s. The Dallas commercial real estate including the big buildings and skyscrapers was a major growth factor. In addition, the Dallas metroplex accommodates numerous high-end shopping centers more than that of any other city or state in the U.S.

Experts reveal that the commercial real estate market in Dallas is in great condition compared to the residential properties. In terms of foreclosure, the percentage of Dallas office space, apartment, industrial and retail buildings is very small. This is due to the fact that commercial companies almost always have the financial resources to carry out their expansion and construction projects.

Dallas is seen to continue being a commercial real estate hub in the many years to come. Currently, new construction projects of condos and townhouses are widespread around this booming city. The other good news is that many of the office spaces previously available in Dallas have already been occupied or pre-leased. The central business district of the city has reduced its office vacancy rate to 24 percent as of end of September 2007.

The year 2007 has proved to be favorable for the Dallas commercial real estate sector. Latest reports from Cushman & Wakefield say office tenants that have been expanding and relocating have leased 1.5 million square feet more of office space in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the first half of the year. The third quarter net leasing has also soared nearly 90 percent from totals in mid-2007. A recent report by Delta Associates showed that Dallas-Fort Worth is seen to accommodate an average of 4.8 million square feet of office space each year until 2010.

As for construction, an estimated 6.9 million square feet of office space is now being built in Dallas-Fort Worth as of the middle of 2007 and this is bigger than in 2006. Of the estimated office space being constructed, more than 40 percent is already pre-leased. Rents have also risen to seven percent from the 2006 rates. Third quarter figures show that office rents averaged $19.42 per square foot while rents for medical office space rose 12 percent to $24.4 percent.

With all these positive developments going on, the future of Dallas commercial real estate is indeed looking bright. Many real estate investment firms are seeing a low vacancy rate and substantial rent gains this 2007. Developers are also projected to provide 2.6 million square feet of office space by the end of the year while building owners are expected to ask for higher rents as a result of lower vacancy. The reduction in vacancies is being attributed to the surge in employment by 3.2 percent covering more than 900,000 jobs by year end.

Can Government Solve the Foreclosure Problem?

Foreclosures are up nationwide, and will continue to rise as prices continue to go flat in many markets. For some, the problem is painful. Ask New Century Financial Corporation, the nation’s second largest sub-prime lender, who recently filed for bankruptcy. Ask the guy down the block from you whose house is in foreclosure.

Foreclosures are up nationwide, and will continue to rise as prices continue to go flat in many markets. For some, the problem is painful. Ask New Century Financial Corporation, the nation’s second largest sub-prime lender, who recently filed for bankruptcy. Ask the guy down the block from you whose house is in foreclosure. Some pundits think the rising foreclosures will bankrupt our economy, causing pain for people who lose their business or job as a ripple effect of all these foreclosures. Others think that the rise in foreclosures is a healthy adjustment to the end of a long real estate boom, and is nature’s way of taking care of a free-market economic cycle. Who’s right? Time will tell, but it’s alarming to see politicians trying to fix this problem. Here are some of their solutions.

Give People Money Tax the rich, give to the poor. The federal government now wants to fund programs to help people stay in their homes. Second foreclosure-prevention bill introduced in Senate A new bill in the Senate proposes giving money to people who can’t pay their loans. We taxpayers are confused. If these people are in trouble because they never should have been given such a loan, why should taxpayer money be used to keep them in their homes that they could not otherwise afford? Maybe someone in Washington has the answer to that question?

Regulate Foreclosure Investors I have written extensively about the assault on foreclosure investors that have been initiated by consumer advocate groups, resulting in a tsunami of new “Foreclosure Protection” laws across the country. A Review of the NCLC’s “Dreams Foreclosed” Report While protecting innocent homeowners from unethical investors is a good idea, new legislation is not always the answer. Enforcement of existing consumer protection laws and prosecution under existing criminal laws is certainly a better option than creating new laws that limit the options of a seller in foreclosure. The best solution to a foreclosure epidemic is a free market that allows investors to gobble up inventory. By hamstringing investors with complicated, punitive regulations, it will only discourage transactions and result in more properties in lender inventory. More lender inventory forces them to sell at lower prices, which hurts the entire real estate market.

Stop the Foreclosure Process The Government of the State of Massachusetts just handed the State Banking Division the authority to put up to a two month delay on any lender foreclosure. All a homeowner has to do is file a complaint with that office. State Orders Foreclosure Delays It is not year clear on how many lenders this will affect, but certainly this move is troubling. If the government’s action is based on a consumer complaint, what kind of complaint deserves the kind of government involvement that stops a lender from collecting on its debt?

Certainly, any homeowner whose legal rights have been violated under state or federal law can stop or delay a foreclosure with a court order. Opponents, of course, will argue that since these people in foreclosure can’t afford lawyers, they won’t have the means to seek this remedy. Such is life, that people who are in debt can’t afford lawyers to protect their legal rights. Do people in $1,000,000 homes deserve the same protection as people in $100,000 homes? Do lenders and their shareholders have the right to foreclose and get their collateral back? And, think about the next logical step… will the government stop allowing landlords to evict if the problem gets bad enough?

Stop the Lenders from Lending Nobody can seriously deny that lenders got sloppy in how they lent mortgage money over the last 10 years. As a result, many people got into loans they couldn’t pay back, and we now see the consequences. Conversely, with the exception of gross overreaching by mortgage brokers, it’s hard to deny that most people didn’t understand the risk involved in borrowing money they couldn’t pay back. If you buy a house with no money down and a negative amortizing loan, you are gambling that you will make more money in the future and/or the price of your home will increase. If you are wrong, you lose your home. That’s the gamble. It’s like Vegas, except for one thing - the house doesn’t win when the customer loses. Everybody loses, except the attorneys who get paid to foreclose.

Should the government stop lenders from offering “risky” loans? The answer, I believe, is emphatically “NO”. If lenders go too far, they suffer financially. Thus, the market will take care of itself, in that lenders who lose profits will tighten up loan regulations, and Wall Street will downgrade or reject portfolios of risky loans. Before you get too excited by this last paragraph, I do believe that some regulation is appropriate to protect the consumers and shareholders from getting duped in the process. Additional disclosures to both homeowners and Wall Street investors are appropriate considering the large number of defaulting sub-prime loans. However, if people want to borrow money under risky terms and lenders want to lend under a high risk of loss, why should the government stop them? Pawn shops, check-cashing stores and used car lots all operate on a high-level of risk.

Step Up Enforcement of Existing Laws Instead of stopping the business, I believe the government should throw money at enforcement. Prosecute the bad people and leave the options open for people who want to do business under their own terms. There are enough existing laws that give the state and federal prosecutors plenty of room to go after bad operators, and many of them already have.

The government can put band-aids on it, but only the market can solve it the foreclosure problem. When demand exceeds supply in a given market, prices will go back up, and people will have enough equity to sell their homes. Somehow, I don’t imagine people will learn their lesson and, thus will continue the same cycle in the future. But, most Americans believe it is not the government’s job to stop people from willingly doing stupid things. When it comes to your financial decisions, be responsible, read the fine print, and remember… “buyer beware”.

Why Property Investment in Delhi is a Good Option

Will property prices in India fall? This is one question every one has been asking, as its answer will eventually decide whether you will be investing in the property in India now or you will rather wait for the property prices to fall.

According to the Investment Gurus and real estate experts “there is a definite boom in the property market in India and that’s why many people are going for investment in the property in India. According to market experts, Indian property market has got a tremendous potential and it will surely ride high in the coming years.”

Favorable property market and real estate boom has made property investment in India look safe. This is also proved by the fact that Indian Government has liberalized its foreign direct policy to attract higher foreign investment. A recent survey has revealed that, India stands on the fourth position among the top four Asian destinations for foreign direct investment.

After reading all this, you must be thinking about where in India do you actually invest to have maximum returns. Though all the major Indian cities have seen an appreciation in the property prices, but New Delhi, the capital of India has experienced the maximum rise in property prices. Property prices in and around New Delhi have increased by up to 5 times within a few years. It’s not that the property prices in New Delhi have suddenly seen a rise. Prices of property whether it be residential, commercial or industrial have been rising in New Delhi over the last few years.

And the reason behind this steady rise in property prices is the fact that being the capital of world’s largest democracy, Delhi has always attracted people from all walks of life. And with Delhi being the host of Commonwealth Games to be held in 2010, considerable investments are being made by the public sector to improve the overall infrastructure.

The government’s positive attitude, transparent property laws and the great demand for housing and commercial establishments are attracting more people for making property investment than any other city in the region. The returns on the investment on the capital value of the property are among the highest in the world, approximately 10 to 15%! And with the industry expanding at 30% annually, who would want to miss the opportunity?