Commercial Sales in New England Likely to Slow in 2002

BOSTON, MA-With supply down in the commercial real estate market and interest rates beginning to creep up, there is a sense that the 2002 market here might not be as robust as this year’s. And owners of fully occupied buildings with long-term leases aren’t rushing to put properties on the market at the bargain prices that buyers are expecting these days.

According to an undisclosed industry executive with a major brokerage firm, many building owners feel confident that tenants will stay to the end of their leases, many of which carry 10-year terms. Because many of their clients signed tenants to long-term leases within the last couple of years, building owners would rather collect rent than sell in a down market. With statewide vacancy rates remaining low, that trend is likely to last as long as the current economic slump.