While there is a high vacancy rate (in the ±22% range) for this two county region, particular sub-markets and buildings are experiencing low vacancies and stable rental rates. We have been successfully negotiating renewal and relocation transactions that contain generous amounts of free rent and tenant improvement dollars funded by the landlord, “as well as” below market rents.

Office Market Nears Rent Growth Tipping Point
Positive Absorption, Vacancy Trends Hold up Despite Soft Patch In Economic Recovery

The rebound in office-using jobs is spreading to smaller businesses, which dominated office leasing activity during the first quarter of 2012. The continued positive absorption, coupled with dwindling supply of available space, is setting the stage for resumed rent growth in U.S. markets over the next few years, CoStar Group reported this week in its First-Quarter 2012 Office Review & Outlook.

Though weaker than in recent quarters, office space absorption in the U.S. held steady at 11 million square feet in the first quarter while the national office vacancy rate fell 10 basis points to 12.7%, according to the report presented to CoStar clients by Walter Page, director of research for Property and Portfolio Research (PPR), CoStar’s analytics and forecasting division, and Jay Spivey, CoStar senior director of research and analytics.

While overall job growth has been less than expected, the economy is converting the number of temporary jobs to permanent fulltime jobs at a faster clip and employees are working a greater number of hours on average, trends that bode well for office demand and rent growth over the next three years, the CoStar economists reported. If job forecasts hold up, the unemployment rate will fall to its long term of average of below 6% by 2015.

For the full article please click on the following link: http://www.costar.com/News/Article/Office-Market-Nears-Rent-Growth-Tipping-Point/137927?ref=100&iid=278&cid=D1EEA29DD8CF24E0D5F7AC92B42D73E9

The current results are as follows:

The Class A Buildings Are:

• 10 Bank Street
• 150 Grand Street
• 360 Hamilton Avenue
• 1 North Lexington Avenue
• 50 Main Street
• 123 Main Street
• 11 Martine Avenue
• 7 Renaissance Square

The Class B Buildings Are:

• 55 Church Street
• 95 Church Street
• 10 County Center Road
• 170 Hamilton Avenue
• 12 Water Street

The eight Class A buildings have a total of 413,005sf available compared to the same eight buildings in February 2011 that had a total of 393,678sf available. More specifically, the current results show 397,176sf available on a direct basis and 18,114sf on a sublease basis.

The five Class B buildings have a total of 214,406sf available compared to the four buildings in February 2011 that had a total of 199,306sf available. More specifically, the current results show 196,406sf on a direct basis and 18,000sf on a sublease basis.

Bottom-line: If you are looking to renew or relocate your office space within the greater White Plains area, 27 suites in 13 buildings is the type of information you need to leverage your requirement in the market.

From low-cost loans, to tax credits for new jobs, to grants, Connecticut is “open for business” and ready to craft an incentive package tailored to a companies particular needs/situation.

Location is never just about incentives
By Laure C. Aubuchon

I am on my “second tour of duty” with regards to municipal economic development – first with the Economic Development Corp. of New York City and now with the city of Stamford.

These positions give me a perspective from both sides of the state borders. Whether during my time in New York City or here in Stamford, I have never found that there is one reason why a company selects a location over another.

No fiscally sound company makes a choice solely on incentives. Can incentives provide a “tipping point” in the decision process or allow a new company to reach profitability sooner? Yes, and those are the best uses for incentives.

Since I have been in Stamford we have seen major corporate moves with and without incentives, three from New York, three from Connecticut and one from California.

Please click on the following link to read more: http://issuu.com/inscoopmediaproductions/docs/fair_032612?mode=window&pageNumber=1

Choyce Peterson represents companies looking to lease space in Westchester and Fairfield counties. Coordinating economic development incentives is one aspect of the tenant representation real estate services we provide. Having represented companies in this region for over 24 years, we can report that there is now a profound pro-business climate in the economic development departments of Westchester County, as well as in the New York and Connecticut state offices.

Recently we coordinated benefits on behalf of several area companies that exceeded their expectations and included grants, low interest loans and tax exemptions on purchases of equipment and furniture.

And now on to the first article …

The Seeds of Rivalry
By Laurence Gottlieb

Many people connect “The buck stops here” with President Truman. As Westchester County’s director of economic development, I am quite familiar with another Truman quote, “The seeds of ware are planted by economic rivalry”.

Rivalries are everywhere, whether between nations, Mets and Yankees fans or college student on college campuses. On the economic front, there is the ultimate regional rivalry, Westchester County versus Fairfield County – in many ways, two similar counties. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, both have:

• Populations of more than 900,000 residents;
• Family household incomes of roughly $79,000 and;
• An abundance of intellectual capital.

Westchester and Fairfield are their respective state epicenters for smart people, with approximately 44 percent of residents age 25 and older holding at least a bachelor’s degree.

Please click on the following link to read more: http://issuu.com/inscoopmediaproductions/docs/fair_032612?mode=window&pageNumber=1

April 17, 2012
Office rent increases; vacancy rate does too
By Richard Lee, Staff Writer

The statistics may slightly vary, but the message is still the same — Fairfield County’s commercial real estate market continues to languish, though there are some reasons for optimism.

The Stamford offices of Jones Lang LaSalle and Cushman & Wakefield both said in their first quarter reports that Class A asking rents have increased, but Class A vacancy rates also rose in the quarter.

Jones Lang LaSalle reported that Class A rents rose from $35.82 per square foot in the fourth quarter of 2011 to $37.55 in the first quarter of 2012 — signaling landlords’ improving confidence in the economy, while Cushman & Wakefield reported that Class A rents grew from $35.74 per square foot in the first quarter of 2011 to the current level of $36.57.

Rents are rising despite an increase in Class A office vacancies in the county.

Despite the increase in rental charges, it is still a tenant’s market, said John Hannigan, a principal in Choyce Peterson, a Stamford-based firm that represents tenants in their search for space.

“The vacancy rate still provides numerous options for tenants to relocate or renew,” he said. “There are still generous concessions in the form of rental rates lower than asked, free rent (for a short period) and tenant improvement dollars provided by landlords.”

For the rest of the article, please follow the following link: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Office-rent-increases-vacancy-rate-does-too-3489139.php%22%3E

As a reminder, Choyce Peterson, Inc. has for 15 years worked on behalf of area companies with respect to their office space needs across the country.

Balancing Act: Lack of New Commercial Space Overcomes Softening Demand
Though Pace of Recovery Slowed Over First Three Months of the Year, Absorption Remained Positive

Commercial real estate demand softened during the first quarter of 2012, but not enough to throw absorption off its pace of eight straight quarters of gains. The numbers were aided by little if any meaningful new construction coming online, resulting in declining vacancy rates.

Although rising energy prices and fiscal debt issues for both domestic and foreign governments remain as clouds on the horizon, the U.S. commerical real estate market remained firmly in recovery mode, led by the office and warehouse sectors, according to Walter Page, director of research for CoStar’s Property and Portfolio Research division.

CoStar’s national market research for the first quarter of 2012 showed that, while net absorption slowed slightly compared to the last half of 2011, rent trends generally improved from prior quarters, with the supply-demand balance supported by a lack of new space being added to the market.

“We may not be out of the woods just yet, but the data we’ve compiled for the first quarter certainly demonstrates an ongoing recovery and points towards future growth,” Page said. “While the retail recovery was less pronounced than in the office and warehouse sectors, we’re witnessing positive net absorption across the board.”

For the full article, click on the following link: http://www.costar.com/News/Article/Balancing-Act-Lack-of-New-Commercial-Space-Overcomes-Softening-Demand/137469