Dodge Sprinter Leads Commercial Vehicle Market

Today, worldwide almost one in five new vehicles sold is a commercial vehicle and Dodge has done an excellent job of providing buyers with plenty of options. Their commercial vehicles are now among the best selling in the world, and a great deal of that success has been due to their Sprinter model.

- Dodge Is an Industry Leader in Commercial Vehicle Sales
During the first half of 2008, the company experienced a 123 percent increase from the first six months of 2007 in commercial sales with 20,177 units sold. That allowed Dodge's share of the total retail market for Class 3-5 vehicles to grow to 21 percent, with sales of its Sprinter also jumping up 21 percent last year. This boost in sales has made them the fourth largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles worldwide.

"While continuing to conquer new territory and set new commercial standards, the commercial car market remains a white-space opportunity for the Dodge brand," said Mike Accavitti, Director - Dodge Brand Marketing in an interview. "Dodge has introduced six all-new cars since 2003 and we will continue to fill this space with bold, powerful and capable commercial-grade vehicles."

- Dodge Offers Best-in-Class Fuel Economy and Price
Since returning to the commercial vehicle market in 2004, they have created several trucks and vans that have earned "best-in-class" awards for fuel economy, including the Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cab models. Their cars also boast of low maintenance costs, which have resulted in a 16 percent market share of the Class 4-5 segments.

"Delivering maximum uptime, dependability, capability, safety and increased savings, Dodge is continuing its commercial market onslaught with a barrage of product enhancements and upgrades intended to further improve an already great commercial line-up while better serving our business customers' specialized needs," Accavitti added.

- The Dodge Sprinter Provides Exceptional Value
And of course, the Sprinter, introduced in 2003, is one of their crown jewels in its commercial fleet. It has the lowest ownership costs of any van in its class and leads its segment in fuel economy, getting about 25 freeway miles to the gallon. In terms of its specifications, the Sprinter cargo van offers two wheelbases of 144 and 170 inches, as well as three body lengths of 233, 273, or 289 inches.

Consumers may choose from standard, high, or Mega Roof heights. While many features like antilock brakes and automatic climate control come standard, there are lots of great things like rear parking assist, heated front seats, and integrated phone connectivity that can be added as options. The Sprinter has a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 engine, with 154 horsepower, but buyers can opt for more horsepower by choosing the 3.5-liter V6 engine instead.

The full-size van continues to be a major hit with consumers. During the first seven months of 2008, the company sold more than 9,500 Sprinters, a 21 percent increase from the previous year. One of the reasons for its long-lived success is that at least three of the world's most recognizable courier services chosen to invest heavily in Sprinter fleets. Its fuel efficiency and practical design make it a great buy as both a passenger and cargo vehicle.

It's no surprise that the Dodge Sprinter is a winner in the commercial vehicle market. Whether you need a vehicle that can be used as a delivery van, chassis cab or a minibus, the Sprinter is the perfect car for you. Find the right one for you at www.sprinterdealer.net.

5 Ways the Current Market is Affecting Commercial Financing

These are unprecedented times. No one has ever seen anything like this in the real estate world. It is now safe to say the residential bubble has not only burst, but has burst atomic style.

The residential real estate market has been hit the hardest with homes in certain areas selling below 50% of their appraised value only a year ago. The swing in home values have sent banks, non-bank lenders, insurance companies, and investors running frantically desperately searching for any last ditch effort to avoid shutting their doors.

commercial financing has historically been approved based off of the cash flow of the property or operating company located at the property, but many of the consequences of the residential market are seeping quickly into the commercial market.

While it would be absurd to say that these are the only 5 things that are affecting commercial financing, they are 5 of the most significant consequences of the real estate market meltdown:

1. Stricter underwriting guidelines imposed by banks and non-bank lenders

2. No concrete financing programs

3. Rising interest rates

4. Business deposit relationships being required

5. Longer approval process and loan closing time frames

These 5 areas of change will affect the way borrowers, sellers, brokers, and lenders should look at obtaining commercial financing. To disregard any of these things would be poor judgment on the end of any of these parties and inevitably cause further problems.

No one knows how long this crisis will last, and it is expected to be awhile before lenders are comfortable with stable real estate values and financially stable borrowers, so it would be wise to take these 5 changes into consideration when seeking commercial financing.

Posted by Chad Pitt, Sr. VP of Commercial Alternative

(714) 594-3426

cpitt@commalt.com

http://www.commalt.com

Commercial Real Estate Market Showing Signs of Bottoming Out

According to many experts, the commercial real estate market appears to have finally bottomed out. This is certainly good news for those in the commercial sector, as previous predictions did not expect the market to bottom out for several more months.

One of the main reasons experts believe the commercial market has bottomed is because the Commercial Property Price Index (CPPI), which is produced by Moody's and REAL Indexes and utilizes the data that is collected by Real Capital Analytics on transactions that are $5 million or more, went up by 1% in November and by 4.1% in December of last year. This past January, the index saw another 1% increase.

The Commercial Property Price Index isn't the only measurement that saw this type of activity. In fact, the Transaction Based Index (TBI), which is maintained by MIT and is based on property sales within the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries Property Index saw a 4% increase in the third quarter of 2009. During the fourth quarter, however, it fell by 4.9%, which gave the impression that the bottoming process had begun.

According to Reis Inc, which is a New York research firm, commercial rents appear to support the bottoming theory. The firm says the average net rents within the office sector fell by 0.8% throughout the country during the first quarter of 2010. When comparing year-over-year data, they were down by 7.4%. Reis also found that 23 of the 79 markets being tracked were either stable or showed rising rents. This is far better than the fourth quarter of 2009, at which time 70 out of the 79 markets were experiencing falling rents.

In terms of the residential sector, Reis found that rents increased in 60 out of the 79 markets it tracks during the first quarter of 2010. Furthermore, the vacancy rate remained steady at 8% when compared to the fourth quarter of 2009. On the downside, this figure is the highest Reis has seen since the company started collecting the data in 1980.

With rents moving upward, it is a good sign that the commercial market has already hit bottom and is ready to start moving up as well. It is also a positive sign that the economy is back on track and that it is not doomed to fall backward once the homeowner's tax credit dries up. Although there are no guarantees on what the economy will do from here on out or how the housing and commercial real estate markets will fare, things are certainly looking much brighter in most markets throughout the country.

Jim Olenbush is the owner of an Austin real estate brokerage. He manages a team of experienced Austin Texas Realtors and they specialize in luxury real estate.

Has the Commercial Real Estate Market Hit Bottom?

In recent months, one of the most frequently debated topics in our industry, posed by both landlords and tenants alike is have we really hit bottom? While there are a number of factors that need to be considered when trying to determine what lies ahead, following are a few critical issues that will provide insight in the months to come:

1. The commercial real estate markets performance is a derivative of what occurs in the larger economy. Without recovery in the job market, the health of our industry remains questionable.

2. There is a growing concern surrounding commercial lenders leaving their non-performing loans at bay instead of bringing them in and recognizing the loss. Until these properties hit the market, investors are uncertain how to analyze pricing, thus leaving many of them on the sidelines with a wait and see approach.

3. Today's challenges are exacerbated by frozen credit markets and billions of dollars in commercial loans maturing this year with little to no refinancing capital available.

4. The downward pressures on lease and sale rates have yet to stabilize. Owners continue to aggressively pursue tenants with large incentives - free rent and creative discounts on lease rates continue to drive activity. Disparity in asking rates on lease and sale offerings does not instill confidence that values have or are close to balancing out.

While many economists are predicting slow growth with the worst now behind us, the waters for commercial real estate remain murky. Those in a strong financial position recognize they have time on their side to make calculated, strategic moves. Others are much more concerned about making a less than favorable deal relative to what may potentially lie around the corner.

As optimism continues to make its way back into the marketplace, we certainly anticipate greater clarity on pricing and overall property values. Industry experts are describing what appears to be a shift in attitude, with many adopting a focus of "getting back to business." However, until meaningful growth emerges for a sustained period of time, the path to a stronger market will remain uncertain.

Regardless of whether we are at or near the bottom, existing market conditions still offer numerous opportunities for tenants and investors alike. However, positioning companies to take advantage of these conditions is a much larger challenge. Seek a qualified real estate professional to assist you with whatever endeavor you may be considering.

Thomas A. Holland, SIOR, CCIM, CPM and Jon R. Reno are commercial/industrial real estate brokers with The Heger Company specializing in the Central Los Angeles market with an emphasis in Vernon, California. The Heger Company is a full service brokerage firm servicing all of Southern California and is an Accredited Management Organization (AMO) that manages over 5 million square feet in industrial properties. Please visit http://www.thc-us.com for more information. You can reach us at 5657 E. Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, California 90040 I (323) 727-1144 I th@thc-us.com I jr@thc-us.com

Active Hopes For Delhi Real Estate Market

Like the Delhi residential real estate witnessing a sluggish phase for the past few months, the commercial properties have also been hit down by a slowdown. Subsequently, some business districts in Delhi have seen a decline of up to 25% in office rentals in the June quarter, media reports.

The rental values of grade A and B properties in the city have seen a significant decline. For instance, the rentals of grade A properties in Nehru place are down from Rs 280 per sq ft to Rs 270 per sq ft.

With the retail boom and increasing return on investment from the real estate market, the value of Delhi properties have been sky-high since long. The Delhi real estate builders are taking the drop in prices as positive, since many of their projects are lying vacant for quite a long time now.

Individuals and business firms have been cautious of investing in residential as well as commercial property and were waiting for a price correction, reveals a renowned Delhi Real Estate Developer. With this drop in the commercial property values builders and real estate agents are now expecting some activity in the market.

Space crunch has been the prime reason for the soaring commercial property values in the city. But, with a lot of expected supply in the Delhi-NCR market by early 2009, rentals are likely to trim down more in the city, opine the industry experts. Amid Jasola being one of the few remaining places where land is available in Delhi, it will continue to add more space in the coming time to the Delhi property market.

Besides, being the much sought after residential property market the commercial properties too have always been in much demand in Delhi. As the city has better edge over many other metros in terms of infrastructure, availability of professional work force and connectivity, Delhi real estate has maintained an apex position in the real estate ladder of the country.

George Gonigal provides you the best and latest information on Delhi Real Estate [http://www.magicbricks.com/property/city/p/p~p!ct~509!/Delhi_NCR.real-estate], If you want to Bangalore Real Estate Builders [http://www.magicbricks.com/property/search/p/builder/p~p!src~builderSearch!ct~3327!/_Bangalore-builder.html], he suggests you log on to magicbricks.com

The Credit Market Crisis Will Likely Hit Commercial Real Estate Office Leasing With a Punch

The largest capital portion of any office lease is the initial outlay of cash for tenant improvements, and almost without exception, tenant improvement dollars are provided by borrowed funds. The typical large-pocket financial instruments which support commercial real estate loans of any sort are known as Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS). These securities represent the ability of banks to spread the risk of loans, yet the $200 billion annual CMBS market is presently seized up, and could virtually eliminate access to cash for the commercial real estate sector. While default rates of these commercial real estate backed securities loans is just an amazingly-low .047% and commercial mortgages in life insurance portfolios are a tiny .03%, the panic among lenders and their institutional backers is freezing access to this stable, creditable and highly secured sector of real estate.

Office leases which require massive injection of cash will feel the crush of the landlord, although creditable and secure, unable to secure the necessary cash to finance the tenant finish. Without the construction to accommodate new tenants, the commercial real estate sector, and landlords would crash. Creditability of the tenant will get tighter scrutiny as lenders will be looking beyond just the landlord or the underlying value of the real estate as security, but directly to the stability of the tenant (and even the tenant's own industry!) for the financial stability. Even with well qualified, or perfectly qualified tenants, the financial markets may simply not extend themselves if the underlying CMBS is frozen.

This would result in many fewer office lease relocations while tenants attempt to weather the financial market storm by remaining, expanding or renewing while not forcing the existing landlord to cough up tenant improvement dollars. Smaller expansion projects would not require massive cash, and tenants themselves may be required to pay for improvements with their own operating capital.

If the frozen CMBS market remains frozen for a lengthy time of several months, this could lead to failures of new real estate projects, or, even worse, to the loss of existing commercial buildings as landlords are shut out from securing needed tenants.

Image: a major office project with a 100,000 vacancy that when filed would complete a profitable project. But it would take $5,000,000 in tenant finish and fees that are not available by commercial banks or insurance portfolios, rendering the transaction dead.

The loss of construction projects and those construction jobs alone would have a ripple effect throughout the economy.

The credit markets must be permitted to have confidence. Fear now obstructs access to needed cash.

Without a swift and conclusive end of the present credit crises, commercial real estate projects across the nations could be in peril.

Christopher Desloge is a three-decade veteran tenant representative in office leasing, authoring The Tenant's Guerilla Guide to Office Leasing and publishing the website officetenant.com. Mr. Desloge is Chairman of the Tenant Rep Agency, LLC specializing in office tenant representation throughout the US. The Tenant Rep Agency, LLC has teamed with HOK, the largest architectural firm in the world to provide office leasing tenant with tenant representation brokerage services coupled with space planning, tenant development, construction drawings and construction administration all at no cost to the tenant. Tenant Rep Agency website is http://www.tenantrepagency.com