Commercial property  investors received another battering  as a raft of bearish forecasts and store closures poured more gloom on the retail sector.

As the numbers of retailers closing their doors,  moved from a trickle to a steady flow, store closures were forecast to rise by 27,000 by the end of February, leaving one in 10 outlets across the UK empty.

Experian, the market analysts, says a combination of store disposals, administrations and branch rationalisations would see the vacancy rate jump from 7% to 15% by the end of the year, a record level.

Meanwhile, property consultants King Sturge forecasts that commercial property values could fall a further 15% in 2009, after a 25% drop in 2008. Office space will be the hardest hit, says King Sturge, suffering a 50% drop in value from its peak, followed by retail at 40% and industrials at 35%.

The sector’s downturn has hit the performance of UK commercial property funds, with the average fund in the Investment Management Association (IMA) Property Sector recording a 30% loss in the past 12 months, according to Lipper.

This has affected sentiment, with retail investors taking a net £117m out of property funds in October, according to the IMA.

But some are bravìng the gloom . Fidelity International claims that the next 18 months “will offer the best opportunity to acquire commercial real estate in a generation”. Its veteran stock picker, Anthony Bolton, said in early December that although capital values still had a long way to fall, sector yields, which were about 6.5% at the time, were “attractive”.

“Instead of cutting their losses, current investors should sit tight and take a medium to long-term view as we believe there will be a turnround in the next 12 to 18 months,” says Gavin Haynes, investment manager with Whitechurch Securities, the financial advisers.

One of the sector’s biggest funds, Aviva’s £1.9billion Investors Property Investment, formerly the Norwich Property Trust, expects more pain in the short term, but says prospects are very favourable over the long term. “We see 2009 as a good opportunity, if not an unprecedented opportunity, to buy at exceptional value,” says David Skinner, strategy and research director with Aviva Investors.

Skinner says gross initial yields for the sector are likely to have risen to about 7% since Bolton’s comments.

But some advise against a hasty return to commercial property funds. “It might be tempting to improve yield, but it’s too soon to move back,” says Mark Dampier, investment director with Hargreaves Lansdown. “Anything that requires credit is going to have a hard time and we are going to see more spaces for rent and more defaults.”

Brian Dennehy, managing director of Dennehy Weller, agrees that it is “too early” to return to equity-based investments in property and expects a recovery won’t be felt uniformly. “Those funds more closely correlated with the stock market, such as Reits, are more likely to pick up sooner, compared with funds that invest directly in bricks and mortar,” he argues. “Property share funds have taken a bigger battering, but the way the cycle works, they will bounce back much faster and further than bricks and mortar.”

Although this week’s forecasts have shed more gloom, some fund managers say they won’t be making drastic changes to their portfolios.

“The way to get through this is not to juggle allocation and jump from retail to office and back,” says Don Jordison, joint manager of Threadneedle’s £32million UK Property Fund, which has held 55% in cash for the past 12 months and is one of the sector’s best performers. “Our strategy has been to diversify from risk. We don’t invest in trophy assets, and avoid property developments.”

About UK Business Property

Whilst there are more than 20 portals covering residential property in the UK the commercial property market remains relatively unserved, with no site having a majority share of the total available commercial property listed. The internet has taken a significantly greater share of all advertising spend each year as it continues to prove that it is the most effective medium for advertisers to reach their audience.

Traditional estate agency methods remain quite successful in reaching the local market around a property, but do not capture leads from the national and international markets at all well. With increasing mobility of populations and business in the global village, it makes sense to expose commercial properties as efficiently as possible to the whole market. In 2006 there were 6 million searches (based on figures from Yahoo Search) made on the internet in the UK for commercial property of all types. Many of these searches will be fruitless as major search engines do not expose many of the available properties at present.

UK Business Property aims to change this by offering commercial agents important incentives to bring all their properties to the whole market. By linking to UKBP agents will bring more traffic to their websites. For agents who do not yet have a fully featured search on their website UKBP offers it’s advanced search functions free of charge, in an easy to implement solution. The advantage is that you keep your visitors on your site and build your brand in your local market, while receiving leads from a national and international audience.

UKBP is committed to supporting agents, with advantageous Agency Terms and a profitable opening offer to it’s Founder Members, who Register and upload their properties before 28th February 2007.

Related Commercial Properties Articles

For some home owners, the downturn in the real estate market presents an opportunity they may not have enjoyed during the boom time. Home owners with some equity in their homes and adequate income may want to invest in a rental home. With so many foreclosures on the market this may be an open window for future returns from real estate investment. But, like most windows, this one too will close. So, it’s good for potential investors to do the research and act in a timely manner.

Numbers in the first quarter of 2008 were pretty grim. More than 9 households out of every 1,000 fell into default. But, as the year progressed there were signs the rate of defaults is slowing – an alert that acting sooner, rather than later, might be advised.

In some urban areas there is a veritable glut of foreclosed homes. First time buyers and investors are looking at these low-priced listings and many are playing in the real estate market for the first time. However, a home owner and an investor are likely looking for different features in a property purchase. As an investor, you’ll not be seeing yourself and family living in the house. You’ll be looking for a rental that, somewhere down the road, you can turn into well invested cash.

For the individual investor who is not in the business of buying, renting and selling properties, there are some things to consider. The first advice from some real estate professionals is to look for the least attractive home on an otherwise attractive block. Have your real estate agent search for comps – homes recently sold in the neighborhood to give you an idea of what homes that are not in a distress sale, are worth on the market. Also have your agent look at the same comp values before the economic downturn. There is, of course, no guarantee that home values will again rise to those often inflated highs, but such comparisons give you a compass reading.

Look for homes that require mostly cosmetic improvements. Don’t consider houses that need new roofs or foundations. Check to see that heating and cooling systems haven’t been raided and stripped of copper and aluminum as they sat on the market. When you find such defects, consider the cost of repairs compared to the asking price of the home. It may, or may not, make sense to put out money for a major repair. Remember that in a competitive market where buyers are bidding up the price, foreclosure owners probably won’t lower the price to accommodate for the needed repairs.

Know that your rental home will require repairs and your continued attention – financial and personal. Calculate all that before you commit to making your real estate investment. Obviously, make sure you and your real estate agent do the math – will the rental price cover all monthly costs? Insurance, repairs, whatever utilities or fees you’ll have to pay and, naturally, the mortgage. To be as accurate as possible, you’ll have to work with a lender to ascertain what fixed percentage rate you’ll be paying. Even as a first time investor, you know the dangers of the adjustable mortgage because you are likely buying a property whose home owner did not.

Real estate is often a very sound investment with bountiful financial returns. If you do your homework, footwork and get the math right, the market may be your key to a more profitable future.

More Real Estate Rental Articles

We’re all taking a hit to our wallets–gas prices, insurance rates, property taxes. These are just a few of the factors that are contributing to the record foreclosure rates our nation is facing. To put it into solid numbers, RealtyTrac says “1.2 million foreclosure filings were reported nationwide during the year (2006), up 42 percent from 2005.”.

The current surge in foreclosure rates is a stark contrast to the historically low levels of foreclosures we’ve seen over the past several years. Property values were high, so homeowners on the brink of foreclosure could easily sell their home and get out from under their debt. But now troubled homeowners are facing stagnant appreciation levels and spiking adjustable rate mortgages.

The short sales strategy

As a real estate investor, all these foreclosures mean that the iron is hot for the striking. But you don’t want to just charge in like a bull in a China shop. Instead, focus your time and energy on making short sales.

A short sale occurs when the lender is willing to take less money than what is actually owed on the mortgage. Basically, the lender can see that the prospects of a full recovery are fairly dim, so they’re willing to cut their losses. For example, suppose Homeowner Joe owes the lender 0,000 on a home valued at 0,000. Homeowner Joe gets a short sale offer of 5,000 on the house. If the lender will accept that amount (and accept the ,000 loss) as payment in full for the unpaid balance of the loan, then you’ve successfully completed a short sale.

Who benefits from a short sale?

The short answer: everybody! The homeowner has avoided foreclosure, as well as a huge stain on their credit history. The lender has avoided the expenses of a foreclosure and the hassle of trying to sell the home themselves. You’ve benefited because you just purchased a home with an automatic ,000 in equity.

The best candidates for short sales

You can do a short sale with a bank-owned home. However, the ideal candidate is a homeowner who’s on notice that they’re in default but has not actually been foreclosed on. The reason for this goes back to the benefits of short sales in general. Both the lender and homeowner are eager to avoid foreclosure all together. If the foreclosure has already occurred, the bank is less motivated to accept a price that’s insufficient to cover the outstanding debt.

As for the property itself, look for homes that are over-leveraged or have multiple mortgages. An over-leveraged property is one that has mortgages totaling more than the market value of the property. The lenders who financed the second or third mortgages are totally out of luck if a foreclosure happens. They’ll basically get nothing. Naturally, these lenders in particular are happy to take what they can get.

A third type of home to look for is one that’s in poor cosmetic shape. You might be willing to invest sweat equity in a “fixer upper”, but a bank isn’t. The more work the house needs, the bigger the hassle for the lender. And if there’s one thing that every real estate investors knows, it’s that you can always cash in on a lender’s aversion to a hassle.

How to do a short sale

Doing a short sale involves four major steps. The first step is working with the homeowner. Once you’ve made your case, you need to reach an agreement with the homeowner and solidify it in a contract. As with any home buying situation, contracts can be gotten out of, but it’s difficult and a penalty is usually involved. With a contract, you’re protecting the time and energy you’ve already invested in the venture. The homeowner is less likely to back out once a contract has been signed.

Next, contact the lender and ask for their information packet about short sales. Every lender requires different information, and this packet will ensure that you give the lender everything they need. At a minimum, you’ll probably be asked for the following pieces of information:

* A letter from the homeowner explaining why he is substantially behind on his mortgage payments

* Financial information about the homeowner, including bank statements and pay stubs

* Copies of the original sales agreements and contracts

The third step is getting a broker’s price opinion, referred to as a BPO for short. A BPO is an evaluation of a property’s value performed by a real estate agent who’s selected by the lender. Getting the lowest BPO possible is the cornerstone of a profitable short sale. As the real estate investor, you have to take proactive steps to influence the agent to set a low BPO. For instance, you should be present at the evaluation and prepared to point out necessary repairs and cost estimates for having the repairs performed.

Now it’s in the hands of the lender. The last step is waiting for the lender to accept or reject your offer. If the lender accepts your offer, you’re ready to close on the deal. If the offer is rejected, all is not lost. You can continue the negotiations, and you may even be able to get a second BPO.

As a real estate investor, the short sale is one of the most effective and efficient strategies at your disposal. The process is simple and the prime candidates are easy to spot. With foreclosure rates soaring, and showing no signs of leveling off, now is the time to put the short sale to work. Check out http://www.ForeclosuresUnleashed.net for how you can soar your profits with foreclosures.

More Real Estate Foreclosures Articles

Investing in real estate can be extremely profitable, provided the investor is aware of how to act under different circumstances, and to do so by correctly interpreting the information that the market provides. You can make money in real estate, and your gains can be both long term and short term. Your options after you have purchased a property basically come down to just two. You can either rent it or you can flip it, meaning you should do some repairs or rehab work and then sell it. This process should happen fairly fast, especially if the price of the property is high.

The fluctuations of the real estate market are familiar even to those who are not involved in this type of investment. These fluctuations influence your decision to sell or to rent a great deal. Aside from the events on the market, you should also consider the price of the property as an important factor in deciding whether to flip the property or rent it. Either way, you can make money in real estate investment, if you know when and how to make your move.

Investing in real estate engages some considerable risks as well, and knowing how to minimize these risks is extremely important. There are many specialized web sites that provide you with a lot of useful tools for investing in real estate, from free legal forms and investor financing information to property valuation tips and credit services. Why is real estate training important? Because of both potential gains and potential losses. What better way of being certain that you will make money in real estate than becoming proficient in all its practices by taking a real estate course?

How can investing in real estate be profitable? You already know the answer to this question. You buy a property and then you either rent it or flip it, keeping in mind that your only goal is to make a positive cash flow. This refers to the money that you have left at the end of the month, after you have paid all the expenses and debts on your property. If you want to make money in real estate, it is extremely important that you thoroughly analyze three important aspects that a positive cash flow depends on. These are the mortgage payment, the rent, and the operating expenses. The lower these expenses are, the higher the cash flow is.

A positive cash flow can also be generated by the type of loan that you take out when you invest in real estate. If you choose an interest-only loan, which is short term and you only pay interest, then your monthly payments are fairly low, and you can keep the cash flow positive.

If all this seems a little too complicated for you, do not hesitate to ask for information and learn from other people’s successes and failures. All these, and much more helpful information about real estate investing, are now available online from numerous sources. And remember that many investors make profit off borrowed money. If they can do it, why can’t you?

For more resources about Make money in real estate or especially about investing in real estate please review this link http://www.realestateinvestor.com

This book shows you all about selling real estate on-line. It is especially adept at selling on E-bay, one of the best places to list, buy or sell real estate on-line in real time. The guide shows you tips, tricks and power tactics for sellers. In this hard real estate market, books like this one are just what the doctor ordered.

Rating: (out of reviews)

List Price: $ 24.99

Price: $ 24.99

Marshall Ferret Small Animal Playpen Expansion Panels

• 3-Panel per set

The Marshall small animal play pen expansion panels give you the ability to add on to your playpen and give your pet a larger play area.

Rating: (out of reviews)

List Price: $ 22.99

Price: $ 19.94

Dubai is known as one of the fastest growing cities in the world. The emirate attracts business from all over the world and because of the city’s commercial vitality, multinational organizations from all around the world want to establish their offices in Dubai.

Minimum import duties in Dubai is one of the main reasons why regional and international entrepreneurs are interested in establishing their warehouses in Dubai. Because of lucrative business opportunities Dubai commercial lands are becoming more and more precious. Investment in Dubai Commercial lands generates great returns for investor because of their ever growing prices. Accommodation for labourers is one of the main concerns for all Dubai businesses because the UAE is heavily dependent on expatriates for workforce. Once a new company starts its business it has to establish labour houses in Dubai for the accommodation of its labourers.

The business of restaurants in Dubai is also very profitable. Indian, Pakistani , Arabian and continental foods are favorites in Dubai. People associated with the business are always looking for shops in Dubai to open new cafes and eateries. So if someone is really interested in investment in Dubai commercial property, he can buy shops in Dubai and resell them at profitable rates after sometime.

With the rapid increase in Dubai’s population, the demand for health facilities in the city is also growing. Many International Hospitals in Dubai are catering the city’s medical needs, but still more are required. As the demand for medical facilities in Dubai is continuously on the rise, there’s a growing lack of space for hospitals and clinics in Dubai. So investing in spaces for medical facilities can also bring the investors high returns in very short time.

Commercial Property in Dubai is available in different forms such as, office spaces, warehouses, labour houses, hospitals/clinics and hotels and restaurants. So you have options abound if you want to invest in Dubai commercial property.

Real estate experts believe that Dubai’s Commercial property will become very scarce in next couple of years as more and more businesses coming in Dubai are creating high demand. So it’s high time for people interested in investment in Dubai commercial property to buy properties for better future prospects.

More Commercial Properties Articles

Cashing in on Pre-foreclosures and Short Sales shows investors exactly how to take advantage of what many are calling the best upcoming investment real estate market we have experienced in decades! Chip distinguishes the difference between good deals and bad deals, reveals just how easy it is to find, evaluate, and obtain foreclosure properties, tells how to negotiate a profitable transaction, and unveils the power of using short sales and other strategies to create a win-win situation for the investor, the seller, and the bank. Even first-time buyers looking to score a bargain on purchasing their own home will be armed with all the tools they need to confidently evaluate and pursue a profitable deal – and save thousands in the process. Cas

Rating: (out of 14 reviews)

List Price: $ 24.95

Price: $ 14.00

Find More Real Estate Products

LittleEffortBigResults.com Attn Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, Real Estate Investors MLM’ers — 5 Secret Strategies to speak the Seller’s language so that you can win Over Sellers AND the Banks & Make More Money Now! If you’re doing everything you can to make money and make your business a success, then you MUST absolutely know these secret strategies to set yourself apart from the rest… especially in today’s challenging real estate market! Discover the difference that can make the difference today! Resources: www.realestatecoursereviews.com/review/index2.php?item_id=18 – 28k Rich Dad’s Coaching is based on the principles of Robert Kiyosaki and his best selling book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. www.richdadcoaching.com More from Robert Kiyosaki. Get Out of the Rat Race Faster with Your Own Rich Dad Coach! finance.yahoo.com/expert/archive/richricher/robert-kiyosaki/1 Nov 17, 2007 … Your Profit Coach, Paul Simister, helps you to build a better …. The Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad Poor Dad” book tears that myth to shreds … businesscoaching.typepad.com/the_business_coaching_blo/2007/11/robert-kiyosaki.html Tons of FREE real estate investment articles and information–for beginners and pro’s. Come network with us! www.creonline.com/ Hundreds of real estate investing articles for real estate investors. reiclub.com/real-estate-articles.php Once you own one home, the idea of owning another home as an investment might pop into your head. www.askmen.com/money/investing/44_investing.html …

 
Real Estate Investor’s Online Toolbox will enhance your success as a real estate investor by using the Internet as your primary resource.  Topics will include:
-Searching for investment properties online-Evaluating single-, two-, and multi-family units-Buying property in out-of-state markets on a national scale-Short-term vs. long-term gain-Finding the right mortgage-Preparing your loan application-Hiring an appraiser-Negotiating a real estate contract-Listing your home and determining its list price This book will include all the fundamentals of real estate investment online, and will help you maximize your resources for successful real estate investment.

Rating: (out of 1 reviews)

List Price: $ 19.95

Price: $ 5.00

Pre-foreclosure real estate is one of the hottest investment opportunities on the market. The Pre-Foreclosure Property Investor?s Kit offers step-by-step instruction and no-nonsense advice on how to find great deals, estimate fair market value, negotiate with sellers, sell your property on your own, and win big in real estate. You?ll learn how to get the best deals on foreclosure properties before they go to auction and utilize simple ready-made worksheets, checklists, forms, and agreements that make getting started easy. Even people of modest means can get into pre-foreclosure investing—all it takes is a little hard work, persistence, and the tools you?ll find in this handy guide.

Rating: (out of 212 reviews)

List Price: $ 24.95

Price:

Find More Real Estate Foreclosures Products