Industrial Guide 2009
Vacancy rates on rise as international trade begins drop
As some struggling tenants cut back on space and shed employees, and international trade with the Caribbean and South and Central America drops, some industrial properties in South Florida have seen vacancies balloon from about 2 percent to more than 20 percent.

Parcels once coveted by home-builders now tough to sell
Hundreds of acres — some once targeted for residential projects — are for sale across South Florida. But as the recession drags on, land owners will have as difficult a time finding buyers as developers getting projects out of the ground and building owners in leasing or selling their properties.

Distressed tenants press for better rental terms
With numerous industrial tenants struggling to stay in business and landlords under pressure to maintain occupancies, lease restructuring is becoming a key survival strategy.

Owner-occupants fight to keep buildings out of lenders’ hands
Foreclosures in the industrial market have yet to reach the level of the residential sector but they are on the rise, especially among warehouses in the 20,000- to 80,000-square-foot range. Larger, multi-tenant properties owned by investors are generally avoiding a crisis — for now.

Sub-market snapshots

Chart: Industrial Guide

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Community Banks
As a few banks fight for their lives, others survive, prosper
With the recession mired in its seventh quarter, making it one of the longest on record, BankAtlantic chief executive Alan Levan said he is focusing his Fort Lauderdale-based bank on credit, core earnings and capital.

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Retail Leasing Guide

Landlords craft stimulus plans of their own
Terranova doesn’t usually play the role of party planner, but as retail vacancies rise and rental rates slide, shopping center owners and managers are eager to lure tenants any way they can, including providing free marketing support.

Q&A with broker Tim Neal
Tim Neal said smaller centers with ethnic restaurants and shops are faring well in the down economy because people in a certain community prefer to shop among people they know.

Vacancy levels nearly double in some South Florida markets
More than 11 million square feet of retail space is sitting vacant in South Florida, as economically battered retailers shutter their stores.

Trying to keep the cash flowing
The president of Ross Realty Investments in Davie, who owns and manages 10 neighborhood shopping centers in South Florida and two in Charlotte, N.C.,is content hanging onto those properties during the grim real estate market.

Owner of successful market shares secrets for success in down economy
Walk into Doris Italian Market in Plantation on a Sunday afternoon, and you’ll overhear customers wondering if the store is giving food away — the meat counter is three deep.

Rents take dip in retail sector as market remains cool
The economic meltdown and credit crunch have left many victims, including some of South Florida’s premier retail markets.

Retail charts
A closer look at retail centers in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

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Top Dealmakers of the Year
Despite the economic downturn and credit market collapse, dealmaking remains an active pursuit on the South Florida business scene.
Top Dealmakers
After Hours: Top Dealmakers

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Office Guide 2009

As tenants leave, landlords struggle to make ends meet
As more tenants leave or decrease space, landlords face growing concerns about the inability to pay loans on buildings — and even foreclosure.

Landlords roll out the incentives to try to attract new business
What does it take to get office space leased in a recession? A few months of free rent and a generous moving allowance can help. But if that doesn’t work, try adding a free, 42-inch flat-screen TV to the deal.

Investors left holding unfinished units, desperate to lease
Investors are struggling to re-sell the unfinished units or find tenants. Most tenants are looking for bargain rental rates and want to move in quickly, not wait for the offices to be completed.

Tenants rent out excess space to boast revenue
In an era of cutbacks and downsizing, office space users of all types in South Florida are beginning to sublease space. That trend is likely to accelerate this year, experts predict.

Chart: Market Watch

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Surviving the credit crunch

Existing equity holders who know the company and have a vested interest in its success are the best source of financing and generally the source willing to close most quickly.

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Bankruptcy

Liquidity crisis aids practice of bankruptcy while hurting struggling businesses
In the midst of a global financial crisis and deepening recession, soaring foreclosure rates and bankruptcy filings are having increasingly broader impacts on national, regional and local economies.

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Economic Forecast

Will unemployment rate be stabilized by bailouts and stimulus programs, or will business cutbacks and closures prevail?

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International Real Estate

South Florida can't count on international investors to bolster property values any more
The gravity of global economic crisis drags on an already sluggish local real estate market as international buyers are sidelined.

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Real Estate's Biggest Deals

The Commercial Market
Deals were getting done, but nowhere near the level of five or six years ago when buyers were plentiful and prices steadily climbed. And things are likely to get worse as the economic crisis deepens.

The biggest deals:
Office
Multifamily
Retail
Industrial
Hotels
Land

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Wealth Management Roundtable

Unlike any other year, South Florida professionals who serve high-end investors are scrambling to salve the fears of clients worried about finding safe havens for their dwindling money, capital preservation strategies and tactics to weather one of the worst financial downturns since the Great Depression.

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South Florida Commercial Real Estate Annual

Alternative financing
When Miami-based Adler Group was recently looking to refinance an office and industrial park in Miami’s Airport West area, it kept getting what it considered unreasonable rates and terms from lenders.

Offices
Stable but obviously not immune to the economic downturn — that’s South Florida’s office market. Compared with other segments of the commercial real estate market, the office market has been able to ride the economic downturn without taking a major hit — so far.

Retail
The economic downturn has taken a toll on South Florida retailers as consumers not only tighten the purse strings on big-ticket items but on spending for basic daily needs.

Hospitality
South Florida’s popularity as a vacation destination and its proximity to the Caribbean and South and Central America make it a prime location for hotels targeting tourists, conventions and business travelers alike.

Industrial
The inability of South Florida’s top industrial players to make deals in a down economy is an overriding theme of the region’s market.

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