Real Estate Symposium, More Bad News.

September 30th, 2009

I attended a real estate symposium today and got a hearty download of dour data. About halfway through the presentation my friend sitting next to me suggested we bow out and get a drink.

There is a ton of data out there to ponder. Interest rates are low, vacancy rates are way up, rent concessions are way up, housing starts are way down, the federal deficit isn’t getting any smaller anytime soon… Maybe I should have gotten that drink after all…

I was most surprised to see that Marcus & Millichap (the symposium sponsors) were reporting over a 7% vacancy rate for Capitol Hill/Downtown and Queen Anne. While our concessions are up and our effective rent is certainly down from last year, our vacancy rates are still less than 2%. I credit this to diligence in advertising, sales, and having a good product to sell. I wish the folks who have 5% vacancy rates and higher the best of luck as the unemployment rate goes past 10% this winter.