Commercial real estate

I have spent the past 2 weeks chasing down warehouse space to rent - for my unfinished boat. Don't ask why - it's a long story.

There is plenty available - one street that I looked at today had 5 properties available nearby - all entering the market over the past 3 months.

Some properties have been vacant for over 3 years. More are entering the market each week.

But is there any price realignment happening?

No way - the price is the price - according to the vendors that I have spoken with.

All that this means is that these landlords aren't yet feeling any pain - and many don't believe that they will.

So if they aren't feeling pain - then I'm not ready to rent.

All very sad really - a little negotiation would help solve our collective problems.

Because my price offer is only going to decrease over the next six to twelve months.

One good thing about the GFC is that many landlords will get to taste some "humble pie" which might even help to re-educate them about "supply" and "demand" market realities.

What I have seen and heard this week is just *silly* - along the lines of - "the world can change all it likes - but I won't be dropping my price".

We shall see how successful that strategy is over time.

Part of the problem is that significant news travels slowly in this neck of the woods - due to the paucity of quality media outlets. But surely the locals are slightly curious about what is happening elsewhere - and what is likely to impact them soon?

Or maybe not - planet Rann might well be a different place from the rest of the nation.

Many locals are hoping so.