In a report just out July 27, 2020 by Green Streeet Advisors, the prediction is that as a result of the successes in corporations working from home office demand in developed economies will drop 10% to 15%. “There is increasing evidence that companies will allow, indeed encourage, employees to work from home more regularly than…Read More→

Real Capital Analytics, which tracks national commercial real estate sales, reported on June 25, 2020 that May sales volume was down 79% year over year.  Industrial was the best performer category (only down 70%), office volumes were down 82% and apartments were down 81%. Retail dropped 83%, and all of the above looked comparatively strong…Read More→

Nationwide Insurance said it will permanently exit most buildings outside its four main campuses and move those associates to permanent remote-working status. I wonder what will happen to those employees who live with small children, roommates, or don’t have adequate quiet working space…I’m also wondering how many other major office users are considering this same…Read More→

Colliers just published a report where they believe there will be minimal impact on the office tenants and the office market. CBRE came out with another report that said it may take a year after the economy rebounds for the commercial real estate market to get back to normal. Globest.com had an interesting article where most…Read More→

According to a new McKinesey & Co report, the pandemic will force commercial real estate to make significant structural changes. Open office layout and densification trends may reverse, and there may be changes in building codes and regulations relating to how many square feet each employee is allotted. CRE companies may intensify a move toward…Read More→

Our office recently sold two commercial buildings in the city of Concord, California, located about 30 miles to the East of San Francisco out in the suburbs. One was a 180,000 square foot Class A office building with six stories of subterranean parking, and full-service rental rates in the $2.65/rsf range. Walking distance to Bart,…Read More→

“We’ve been debating for a couple of years about what impact the new FASB rules would have on our business,” says Adam Kaduce, SIOR, senior vice president at R&R Specialty Group n West Des Moines., Iowa. “Frankly, we’ve seen very little FASB-related influence on how people are looking at real estate. It’s more about talent-retention….Read More→

Major companies continue their expansion in the Bay Area, and for every firm that relocates out of the area there are plenty of companies ready to fill their space. Today AirBnB just announced it leased 301,000 square feet of office space 4301 and 4401 Great America Parkway in Santa Clara, as one recent example

Buildings Magazine November 2019 had an article on what amenities tenants should be investing in. Sodexo surveyed 3,593 employees around the world, and here are some of the results: For ‘Experience Enhancers’, Café or restaurant 71%; medical services/clinic: 66%; Car sharing or shuttle services: 62%; vending services: 61%. For ‘Experience Essentials’, Cleaning of the workplace:…Read More→

Just a few days ago I toured the almost-complete 30,000 square foot Industrious co-working facility under construction in Walnut Creek. It’s novel location is on the second floor of Broadway Plaza, one of the premier shopping centers in California, with offices looking out over the plaza and shops. With 112 private offices ranging from one…Read More→

“A search conducted in the US and UK shows the presence of surveillance cameras in urban settings caused a significant decrease in property crimes on the streets and in subway stations, and a decrease of 50 percent in parking lots.” Wired November 2019

I just attended the annual SIOR Conference in Portland (Society of Office and Industrial Realtors) an international group of 3,300 commercial brokers who have to take a lot of classes and document they are in the top few percent of the nation’s commercial real estate experts. I’ve been a member for 34 years and it…Read More→

What was that old saying regarding killing the golden goose that laid the golden eggs? Sure you get one solid gold geese feast but that is it for a future supply of golden eggs! The San Francisco Planning Commission just okayed a plan to raise office fees by 143%! Fees would go from $69.90 per…Read More→

Using sensors and the new software analytics are helping companies to cut their office space by 30% or more.  Microsoft used this and “this has meant significant financial savings and it could mean Microsoft can make further consolidations that save it tens of millions of dollars.”  Bisnow.com July 2019

San Francisco may finally begin to run out of office space as there are more than 8.1 million square feet of office space being proposed, but with the office cap on new construction of 2.1 million square feet, there finally may be an exodus to the East Bay!  Along the I-680 and Tri-Valley we have…Read More→

Lisa Picard, CEO of EQ Office, describes co-working spaces as “the three F’s…fast, flexible and fun.”  WeWork has introduced WeLive, a co-living concept with existing facilities.  RISE by We, a gym and super-spa concept, and WeGrow, a kindergarten program for children ages two through five at $36,000 annually, per child. (Ouch!)  “New co-working operators tend…Read More→

A recent Harvard Business School study of two Fortune 500 companies found that a cubicle-free workplace without private offices actually forces less face-to-face and more e-mailing and instant messaging. Employees have headphones on to drown out distracting noise. “There’s a natural human desire for privacy, and when we don’t have privacy, we find ways of…Read More→

One of the best components of the workplace to invest in is the lunchroom / breakroom. This is where almost all of the employees go at some point in the day, and making this an energizing and enticing place to visit for all age groups and job functions is key: Mix and match furniture heights…Read More→

At the recent Commercial Real Estate Allen Matkin’s / UCLA’s forecast, for California and overall, office space has reached the peak for this cycle with office rates as high as they will be for the foreseeable future. Warehouses are hot and for the East Bay, San Joaquin and Sacramento counties will remain sizzling for the…Read More→

Intel has a short online video showing how tech can enhance the office environment. It starts where an app tells the driver what parking spaces are available, sensors scan the employee, allowing access through security, the smartphone telling you which desk is yours for the day (or hour), and on and on. A little scary…Read More→

“Of the Bay Area residents who are still here, nearly half of those surveyed recently said they plan to move out of the region in the next few years, according to a poll released in June by the Bay Area Council.” (Bay Area News Group, July 15, 2018) Folks are leaving in droves, selling their…Read More→

Past SIOR President Geoffrey Kasselman predicts that office space may one day be occupied 24/7, and there are major users “that may rhyme with Zamazon and Zoogle that are trying to negotiate with large-portfolio commercial landlords now — they want a landing pad on the top of their buildings so they can recharge the drone…Read More→

Office, industrial and retail building owners report increasing issues with homeless folks hanging out during working hours as well as after hours in dimly lit parking areas and nocks sheltered from the elements. Here are a few solution ideas: Contact your local homeless services organizations to see if they can stop by and meet with…Read More→

Recently Facebook signed a lease in San Francisco for 750,000 square feet. This week it was reported that Facebook also signed a lease in Sunnyvale at Moffett Towers II for one million square feet! Industry experts are concerned that we might run out of office space. However, out here in the Eastbay the I-680 Corridor…Read More→

I’ve been giving speeches at various organizations, forecasting the market, where we are headed, if we are in a bubble (or two), and in my presentation I mention Facebook’s lease last month of the last available office building in San Francisco, taking all 750,000 sf, then, a few weeks later, leasing one million square feet…Read More→

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LRG4IcGTfU