Where To Look For A Great Commercial Investment

Normally in this blogsite I write about residential real estate matters. But something came across my internet space this morning that is really, really interesting and it has to do with commercial real estate, so I thought I'd pass it along to anybody who is so inclined.

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has just released their annual report, "Emerging Trends In Real Estate". According to ULI, commercial real estate investors need to look toward metropolitan markets that position themselves as 24-hour cities with global pathways to international markets.

Tops among these kinds of metro markets is New York City. While prices for industrial and office space in NYC are at or near an all-time high, the weak U.S. dollar makes the prices very, very reasonable to foreign investors who, according to the report, are pouring and parking money into commercial Manhattan real estate like there's no tomorrow.

According to the ULI report, here's what to look for when sizing up a market for commercial/industrial investment ...

• A major international airport or shipping port
• Walkable residential neighborhoods
• A revitalized downtown area close to an urban hub
• Presence of corporate headquarters
• Highly educated workforce

The ULI report says the top sites to watch, in addition to NYC, are

• Seattle, Washington
• Washington, D.C.
• Los Angeles, CA
• San Francisco, CA -- where space with a view commands over $1,000 per square foot
• Boston, MA
• San Diego, CA
• Denver, CO

The report mentions second tier cities for commercial investment as well. Included in this list of smaller cities are three Florida locations: Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville. What is odd to me is that Miami is not included in the ULI list. Is this just an oversight or does Miami lack something necessary to be a player in this game? Oh well.

For more information on real estate in the Tampa Bay area, please visit my website at http://www.thestpeterealestatesite.com/.