I’m often asked by people who notice a spate of FOR LEASE or TO LET signs going up in an area if it is a strong indicator of where the market is at.

My answer is always the same… (more…)

At the risk of sound a bit like a human rights activist, I thought it important to say a word about ensuring your rights as a commercial tenant are always honoured.

In these tough times, we can all get a little bit desperate and think about (more…)

When times are tough, a business can put payments on hold for a whole range of services and products. When bills mount up, some can be put off for the short term, and the consequences are not disastrous.

But when it comes to non-payment or delays in rental payments for commercial property leases, delays can cause a complete breakdown for both parties. (more…)

These straitened times can make it hard for business leaders to assess the best pace for their business – how much to hold off decisions about growth and expenditure, versus acting swiftly. It can be a tough call. Markets are volatile and it is tricky to be totally sure of your timing.

However, when it comes to property there are several certainties… (more…)

There’s now clear evidence the times are a’ changing when it comes to falling rentals for commercial space in Auckland City.

Research figures clearly show that the cost of renting commercial space in Auckland’s CBD and other areas is down.

But what do the figures really mean?

You have to be very careful about (more…)

Getting an accurate picture of the vacancy levels of commercial lease space is not easy at the best of times.

Right now, as businesses are carefully reviewing their space needs, the amount of space available to sub lease has grown considerably; in the office, industrial and retail sectors.

Official vacancy rate calculations don’t take sublet space into account, so in effect there is a (more…)

The summer holidays make us all intensely interested in the weather, even more than usual. And if there’s a run of bad weather, it can have us end up feeling down in the dumps and resentful, thinking life is conspiring against us.

I’m just back from an awesome trip around the South Island, through some of the world’s greatest landscapes in places such as Fiordland. We visited some stunning spots, but as it is in that part of the world, we had some days of bad weather. It’s par for the course.

This had me reflect on plans for 2009, and it came to me that in the current economic conditions, more than ever before, we (more…)

2008 has been a hugely interesting year in the property game.

Property has had its fair share of headlines. At times it has been hard to sift through all the comments and predictions to get an accurate take on what is really going on. (more…)

There’s a term in the real estate game that is of huge importance, and that is “the effective agent”. It is the “effective agent” who earns the commission or brokerage fee when a property lease contract is signed.

A major challenge arises in the property lease market when (more…)

As the roles were announced for our new government this morning, I was reflecting about what actions could be most useful for the property leasing market.

It is clear there is going to be a role for ACT leader Rodney Hide to focus on how to streamline bureaucracies and make life easier for the small to medium business.

As Minister for Local Government I am sure he will be looking hard for ways that councils can more efficiently deal with resource consents, and make life easier for small to medium businesses. Current processes can be very slow, complex and costly.

The thing is, (more…)

It has been a momentous week in anybody’s book with the election of Barack Obama as the president of America and a new National government in New Zealand.

One thing has struck me about both elections which I believe heralds a new era of leadership around the world. And that is the way in which winners and losers (more…)

In this day and age when we hear the word “sensational” it often seems to be about something that is too good to be true, and we have a healthy distrust for anything we see in the media that has been “sensationalised”.

This week I would like to reclaim the word sensational as something positive, because indeed there are some very good deals to be found in the property lease market right now.

(more…)