A different perspective on real estate market

To the editor:

At the risk of being seen as an overly optimistic Realtor overselling how good the economy is, I feel compelled to offer another view of the current market from the commercial real estate industry.

I’ve always appreciated Bill Norton’s articles, and he is a recognized and respected leader in the industry. That said, his recent article, “Buckle Up: The Recession is officially here” (Jan 16-29 NHBR) is a bit histrionic, especially the claim that, “with so much doom and gloom, no one is signing new real estate leases except very reluctantly or for the shortest terms possible.”

Frankly, that’s not our recent experience. My firm has recently helped many companies take advantage of the best leasing market in 20 years to upgrade their position and structure long-term leases. Leading New Hampshire small businesses like Image 4, Secondwind Water Systems, Millyard Communications, ADS Environmental, Lifeshare and others all recently grew into larger lease space, or relocated to upgrade real estate positions, with long-term leases.

Four long-term leases were executed at the Ananda Professional Building in Salem in the past year alone. Advisers in our Portsmouth office brokered over 20 new leases since the fourth quarter of 2008, some with lease terms as long as seven years in length.

Also, many companies are taking advantage of incentives to renew existing leases longer into the future.

From our vantage point, the commercial real estate leasing market is far from moribund.

I’d be happy to talk with other New Hampshire businesses about the opportunities to upgrade their real estate position in today’s market, as well as with commercial landlords who want to create win/win strategies for successful lease renewals.

Jim DeStefano
Vice President and Principal
Grubb & Ellis|Coldstream Real Estate Advisors Inc.
Bedford