Liberty's Hankowski: Rents Are a 'Battleground'

MALVERN, PA-Liberty Property Trust has held up relatively well in the recession compared to other REITs, but the company does face its share of challenges, said William Hankowsky, its chairman, president and chief executive officer, at NAREIT’s REITWeek conference in New York City. “We’re clearly seeing rents down,” he said. “Rents are an absolute battleground.”

The good news is that Liberty executives are seeing fewer troubled tenants now than they did in this year’s first quarter and last year’s fourth quarter. Now, fewer companies are flat out going out of business, and instead, are deciding to consolidate their locations and close branches.

“These aren’t deals we lost to competition,” Hankowski remarked. “This is just square footage that is left on the market.”