Recession hits commercial real estate

In May of this year, commercial property sales were at their lowest level in a decade, and commercial renters are struggling to pay rent. Retail and hotel tenants, who were hit the hardest, are current on leases at rates of only 41% and 37% respectively as of June. This also affects the income of the landlords and investors.

Currently, California’s state of emergency is protecting commercial tenants from eviction. However, tenants don’t presently have protection for any length of time after the state of emergency is over. There is a bill proposed, Senate Bill 939, which would protect tenants for 90 more days, and allow 12 months for repayment.

One sector of commercial real estate is notably resilient: industrial. With so many people forced to move to online shopping, industrial properties suitable for e-commerce aren’t struggling nearly as much. Nevertheless, commercial real estate is still not going to be a great investment for the time being. We can expect this trend to continue for a couple more years, as 2022 is the earliest expected year of recovery.

Photo by Wonderlane on Unsplash

More: https://journal.firsttuesday.us/commercial-real-estate-is-reeling/72262/