Here are a couple of items from today’s Contra Costa Times.
First, in Circuits to seafood: New tenants plug into empty buildings the Contra Costa Times shares about the new uses for former Circuit City stores.
A Seafood City Asian market is due to a open in a shuttered Circuit City store in Concord, and another retailer is eyeing a closed Circuit City in Fremont, raising hopes that at least a few empty retail buildings in the East Bay could gain a fresh lease on life.
Second, in Bay Area rents decline, fueled by unemployment we learn:
Housing prices aren’t the only thing that’s falling in the Bay Area. So are apartment rents, but not nearly as much as the hard-hit housing market.
Still, the average asking rent in the nine-county Bay Area during the first quarter for apartment buildings with 50 or more units was $1,556, or a 1.4 percent drop from a year ago, said a report released Thursday by Novato-based RealFacts.
The occupancy rate fell 1.7 percent to 94.2 percent. The average rent applies to all rental units, ranging from studios to three-bedroom townhouses.
The loss of jobs – or the fear of losing jobs – is leading to lower occupancy rates that push down rents.
Deciphering the News
It is encouraging to know that some retailers are willing to expand in the current market. Seafood City is a supermarket for the Asian/Filipino communities.
As rents decline and vacancy increases multifamily values will decline as investors underwrite at lower income values.
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