Now is the Time to Invest in Connecticut

We have had so much bad economic news in Connecticut recently--and well-deserved, as we definitely made bad choices over many years--that we have forgotten one basic tenet of real estate:  It comes down to location, location, location.  Although businesses are up in arms all over the State, and many are leaving or considering doing so, they may be discounting the location we have here.

One of our agents believes that, in the future, Connecticut's commercial sector will all be about distribution.  I think that could well be true.  As New York and Boston soar to greater and greater heights, and lure young people from all over the country to settle in those two areas, here we sit--right between the two cities.  While we certainly have not invested in infrastructure in the way we should have, we still have a proximate location that will make our land and buildings valuable for distributing goods.  As one of the articles I read recently pointed out, whatever you can do with planes and ships, you need roads and trucks for at least the last few miles of any delivery. 

So, while factories and malls may be repurposed over time, there will always, in our lifetimes, be a need for space in Southern New England, and that's what we have.  Before others figure that out, and bid up the prices, those of us already here should take a second look at what is available.  It may be that location trumps all those bad decisions.  Let's hope so. 

The Irish Experience

We just got back from a quick trip on the new flight from Bradley to Ireland, and it was a terrific experience, but also instructional.  Dublin is a city that, in some ways, would remind people of New Haven, but with more redheads.  There are lots of students everywhere, a shortage of rental housing, a big university right in the center, new tech companies starting up, and more restaurants than you could ever believe would be needed (and mostly all full).  Plus lots of beer--recently often craft beer.  Also like New Haven, there has been little commercial building over the past ten years, while the economy lagged.

What's different about Dublin from New Haven?  Well, it's a capital city, with all the economic power that that brings.  It has a major airport, with easy, and cheap, access to many parts of the world.  It's part of the EEU, and next to Britain, which just voted to leave that organization.  It has great public bus transportation with the city and around the country, in addition to rail. It has lots and lots of tourists.  And it attracts industry from other countries, including European headquarters of global firms.

Can we learn anything from their experiences?  After all, they've had a rough ten years as well, and many types of property have declined in value.  It's also much harder to get financing there, and lots of people can't get it.  However, if we work on job growth, transportation infrastructure, and attracting new industry, maybe the people (even the redheads) will come.