I am really starting to feel like a right-wing conservative. Today's rant is about the rates for unemployment insurance in CT, which are the highest in the country. For every $100 a Connecticut employer pays in wages, it pays $2.30 to the State against unemployment claims. One other state is at 2.1%; California, famous for the outer reaches of costs, is third at 1.8%. The average is .60 per $100, or about a quarter of what we pay here. And we wonder why jobs go elsewhere?
In another unfortunate move this week, the city of Stamford added an extra tax on real estate sales over $1 million. That may not be so bad in another part of the State or country, but a million-dollar base picks up a fair number of houses there. What will that do to future home sales?
Connecticut, stop taking us for granted! Many people have a choice of whether or not to move here, or buy property here. Indications are that many are choosing not to invest, and our average home prices have just gone down for the eighth month in a row. Compare that to everywhere else, and you will see why business owners worry.
Showing posts with label insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label insurance. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
What a Bargain
When I look at what most items cost now, and I think about what we paid for them when I was younger, most things seem very expensive (gas especially--there was a gas station near my high school boyfriend's house that was having a gas war with another station, and it was 16 cents a gallon!). A few seem not to have gone up nearly as much, but I'll bet that New Haven commercial real estate ranks right near the top.
In the late 70s and early 80s, industrial real estate rates were around $4/sf, and today you can still find places for under $5/sf. Office space in the 80s could go for around $20/sf, and you can find some in that range now. The comparisons may not be building to building, but the value of today's pricing is clear, especially when you look at the expenses added on. Taxes, insurance, and utilities are vastly more now than they were then, and can dwarf the actual rental payment.
So, if you are, like I am, getting to the point when you are in danger of sounding like an old coot when you talk about the "good old days", don't forget to think about real estate prices. You'll sound current instead!
In the late 70s and early 80s, industrial real estate rates were around $4/sf, and today you can still find places for under $5/sf. Office space in the 80s could go for around $20/sf, and you can find some in that range now. The comparisons may not be building to building, but the value of today's pricing is clear, especially when you look at the expenses added on. Taxes, insurance, and utilities are vastly more now than they were then, and can dwarf the actual rental payment.
So, if you are, like I am, getting to the point when you are in danger of sounding like an old coot when you talk about the "good old days", don't forget to think about real estate prices. You'll sound current instead!
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
New FEMA maps for Connecticut
One of the legacies of Hurricanes Sandy and Irene is a new focus on potential exposure for future storms. FEMA has issued new maps this year for Connecticut, changing the classifications of some areas from one category of risk to another. In some cases, this can translate into large increases in flood insurance premiums, or even new requirements for flood insurance where none existed before.
In past years, the government has phased in the increases in flood insurance premiums, as jumps in the costs to owners can be large, and hard to handle all at once. Given the costs of the last two storms, it seems unlikely that further phase-ins will be used. Therefore, it's very important that owners and potential owners consider carefully the costs of flood insurance when calculating the costs of property ownership. Remember that rivers also flood, and that commercial properties not near the coast (such as the office building in North Haven that I'm sitting in right now) can also have water problems with storm surges.
Also, buyers should take note of the fact that it can be harder to insure some flood-prone properties, and should not wait until just before a closing to look for insurance. It may not take as long as environmental tests or financing applications, but insurance is no longer a call on the way to the closing table. It's just another fact of real estate life today!
In past years, the government has phased in the increases in flood insurance premiums, as jumps in the costs to owners can be large, and hard to handle all at once. Given the costs of the last two storms, it seems unlikely that further phase-ins will be used. Therefore, it's very important that owners and potential owners consider carefully the costs of flood insurance when calculating the costs of property ownership. Remember that rivers also flood, and that commercial properties not near the coast (such as the office building in North Haven that I'm sitting in right now) can also have water problems with storm surges.
Also, buyers should take note of the fact that it can be harder to insure some flood-prone properties, and should not wait until just before a closing to look for insurance. It may not take as long as environmental tests or financing applications, but insurance is no longer a call on the way to the closing table. It's just another fact of real estate life today!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
First Entry
Welcome to the new and improved Pearce Commercial Real Estate Website, and to my commercial blog. While I have been blogging for a long time, this is my initial foray into exclusively commercial material.
It's always an interesting feeling to be writing in cyberspace. You have no idea who, if anyone, is reading what you post. Nor do you know, unless they contact you, what they think of what you say. That's my way of saying that I'm going to write about whatever occurs to me that I think might be useful or relevant to the potential audience, and I would be delighted to get feedback from reader about potential future topics.
By way of introduction, Pearce Commercial Real Estate covers most of Connecticut, largely excluding Litchfield and Fairfield Counties. We do sales, leasebacks, leases, exchanges, and buyer brokerage for industrial, office, retail, and investment property. We also have a large residential department, and joint ventures in appraisal services, insurance and mortgages. We see the market from the "boots on the ground" level, and get enough industry material to also get the view from 10,000 feet above the ground. I will try my best to balance those two perspectives, and hope that you will find this site useful.
It's always an interesting feeling to be writing in cyberspace. You have no idea who, if anyone, is reading what you post. Nor do you know, unless they contact you, what they think of what you say. That's my way of saying that I'm going to write about whatever occurs to me that I think might be useful or relevant to the potential audience, and I would be delighted to get feedback from reader about potential future topics.
By way of introduction, Pearce Commercial Real Estate covers most of Connecticut, largely excluding Litchfield and Fairfield Counties. We do sales, leasebacks, leases, exchanges, and buyer brokerage for industrial, office, retail, and investment property. We also have a large residential department, and joint ventures in appraisal services, insurance and mortgages. We see the market from the "boots on the ground" level, and get enough industry material to also get the view from 10,000 feet above the ground. I will try my best to balance those two perspectives, and hope that you will find this site useful.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)