For some people, real estate can be a very scary and risky venture. For many though, real estate has proven to be a booming industry. After record setting years of rising house costs, adjustable rates on bank loans and a sluggish economy, many experts fear the worse. In recent polls, 2007 is on track to have the highest amount of foreclosures in recent history. In April foreclosures were up by a staggering 62% from the previous year. Many experts believe that there will be over 2 million foreclosures this year if current rates continue. There are several reasons as to why so many homeowners are facing foreclosures. Due to growing fear among lenders that mortgage financing has become increasingly risky, refinancing is no longer easily or automatically available, even for homeowners with good credit, and some of those who cannot refinance are losing their homes. Also, another contributing factor is that many borrowers had interest-only loans and were soon faced with a much higher monthly payment because of a stalled market.Even though real estate may seem a risky investment, there is an area of real estate still booming. Commercial real estate. The commercial real estate sector has stayed strong and has proven to be good investment choice. Commercial real estate in California has also stayed strong. The commercial real estate leasing market in California is one of the country's strongest. Warehouse, office, retail and apartment rents are at or near 10-year highs and vacancies are at or near 10-year lows. Los Angeles and surrounding cities have benefited from an expanding entertainment sector as well as the booming ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach . Downtown Los Angeles , Hollywood , Beverly Hills , Santa Monica , and Burbank commercial real estate has had healthy growth over the last year. Because Los Angeles and it's surrounding cities is so densely populated and the average income is 12% higher than the nations average level at $55,000 making California an attractive market.Property values vary, from such wealthy areas as Beverly Hills to the poverty of South Central Los Angeles. The West L.A. office submarket that includes Hollywood and Santa Monica , home to movie-production companies, commanded average first-quarter rents of $40.32 a square foot. Downtown L.A. , which is beginning to be developed rapidly, had vacancies fall to 15.8% in the first quarter from 19.9% in 2005, averaging about $26.49. As well as movie-studios, the warehouse sector has also seen a boom. The region's 3.5% first-quarter warehouse vacancy rate was the lowest of 54 major U.S. markets surveyed by PPR, and the area recorded the fifth-highest average rents after Honolulu , San Francisco , San Diego and New York . Even though little land is available for new development, such companies as Denver-based ProLogis have bought older industrial properties in the South Bay area that provide ready access to the ports. Because of this growth, Los Angeles and surrounding areas have proven to be great investments. Even though the residential real estate sector seems to be slowing, Los Angeles , Hollywood , Santa Monica , Long Beach , and Burbank commercial real estate are going strong.
By Rich Stephenson [ 28/06/2007 ][ viewed 31 times ]
Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com
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