Jim Klein, Author at Klein Commercial Real Estate

COMING OUT ON TOP – SIOR SPRING CONFERENCE

Posted on May 9, 2011April 29, 2021 by Jim Klein

Firstly, the mood was more upbeat and optimistic. Most people agree that the past few years were terrible but since the end of last year activity has increased. Nationwide, there is agreement that we have a bifurcated market with quality, institutional grade and trophy properties hitting 5% cap rates. Prices for these properties have returned to previous highs. Meanwhile, everyday buildings that most of us broker are still in the doldrums. In order to capitalize on this divergence investors are focusing on the $1MM to $5MM market where high returns exist.

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HOW ARE THINGS LOOKING?

Posted on May 3, 2011April 29, 2021 by Jim Klein

Customers always ask me, “How do things look?” Here’s one way to answer. In this roughly one square mile grid of Broadway/Rosecrans, there are about 120 buildings of decent size. I count 25 that have availability. Perhaps not the entire buildings are on the market, but enough to depict this picture. That’s about 20% of the buildings with significant availability. I’m working on a lease in Chatsworth and there is even more yellow. This is a pretty consistent picture throughout Los Angeles. In contrast, there have been times when there is no yellow.

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NEW GARDENA OFFICE

Posted on April 29, 2011April 29, 2021 by Jim Klein

We recently opened a new office on Gardena Boulevard – 1204 W. Gardena Boulevard, Unit A, Gardena, California, 90247. We are between the Chamber of Commerce and Guilianno’s. This is an ideal location that puts us close to many of our longstanding customers.

With this office we continue our strategy that focuses on large industrial and infill land throughout Los Angeles. Now with the Gardena, we can easily handle many of the local assignments.

Please stop by.

Power of Data

Posted on April 8, 2011April 29, 2021 by Jim Klein

Our MAPP Program was recently featured in the Cover Story of SIOR Professional Report. The article describes out GIS/Data program for Los Angeles Commercial Real Estate.

https://kleincom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Power-of-Data.pdf

USER MARKET SHOWS SIGNS OF NORMALIZING

Posted on February 27, 2011April 29, 2021 by Jim Klein

The biggest surprise this year is how many buildings have been bought up at fairly high prices. We are not out of the doldrums, but there is a scarcity of property for sale. Many buildings that have been sitting around for years are now subject to competitive bidding. Brokers are out looking for “off-market” deals – not for speculative investors, but for Users. While pricing is not at the highest levels, they are in a lofty range and somewhat removed from an otherwise weak leasing market.
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Winter 2011 – Positives, Negatives, Quality and Change

Posted on February 8, 2011April 29, 2021 by Jim Klein

A few years into the Los Angeles commercial real estate recession and some things are clear. Good deals are limited. Distress never hit the street. There’s an evident turn around but most people aren’t recovered. And the smart money is still cautious – for instance, no vacancy risk.

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INTRODUCING MAPP 1.0

Posted on September 20, 2010April 29, 2021 by Jim Klein

Over the summer we created a commercial real estate mapping application that combines the important commercial real estate information for Los Angeles County in one place. It is designed to help buyers, tenants, developers, and investors get a spatial view of the real estate commitment they are about to make. We call this map application MAPP 1.0.
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Tenants Are the New Opportunity Buyers

Posted on August 18, 2010April 29, 2021 by Jim Klein

Tenant decision making has radically changed since the Great Recession. The combination of low interest rates and falling prices mean that mortgage payments are the same as or less than rent. This has been a fairly rare occurrence over my 30-year career. Tenants with established histories are finding some great bargains. Even companies that may have difficulty obtaining loans and lack large down payments can team with sophisticated investors to solve many financing hurdles.

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The Port Strategy Fallacy – It’s the Deal That Counts.

Posted on June 30, 2010April 29, 2021 by Jim Klein

Both brokers and investors tout the strengths of investing in markets with a vibrant harbor and airport. This has been a pronounced strategy from at least 1997 when container imports began increasing beyond incremental growth. Many institutional investors have dubbed this the Gateway Strategy. But grand proclamations like these normally lead to increased competition amongst buyers and lower returns. If history is any lesson, the money was made by the first round Buyers who purchased these distribution buildings at distress. It was the following group who used port dynamics to justify their high purchases and are now sitting with vacant and poorly leased properties at rents vastly below proforma. In retrospect, it was the deal strategy that made investors money. Being located by the port was secondary.
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