An article in CNN Money dated February 4th, 2010 took a look at the Commercial Real Estate industry. Within the first two paragraphs, it states; “Industry observers have issued dire warnings for more than a year, suggesting that lenders are on a collision course with potentially billions of dollars worth of commercial real estate losses.” In a Reuter’s article dated February 5th, 2010, the lead sentence was, “U.S. commercial real estate prices fell 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter, setting a new low for the current downturn, according to a leading property index released on Friday.” Is the industry in that dire of shape and has the media played a role in the decline of the industry?
Most everyone has felt the pains of the decline in our economy. The unemployment rates are high, foreclosures are sky rocketing and businesses are closing left and right. The media however, has been extremely harsh on the real estate industry. At times blaming the industry for the economic collapse. So, we are posing the question – Has the Media actually hurt the Real Estate Industry?
Don’t get us wrong, we have also experienced a decline , but the constant beating that the real estate industry has received from the media appears to have actually had an effect. In searching the news, most of the stories about commercial real estate are all about the decline. It is hard pressed to find one that is positive or that even notes that the industry has held steady and is on the incline.
John Santora, president of real estate service firm Cushman & Wakefield’s Americas division, said “It’s evident that the market has started some kind of recovery. Overall, the fundamentals either improved in the second half of 2009 or the deterioration began to slow.” Other commercial real estate professionals have also commented on the appearance of a recovering market.
So, has the media hype really hurt the commercial real estate market or has the market just starting turning around? Tell us what you think.
