[IMGCAP(1)]A co-worker of mine recently told me he was taking a break from writing his stories because he was watering the lawn of a house next door to him. The house had been vacant for more than a year because of foreclosure and had automatic sprinklers. He quickly informed me that he obviously couldn't use the automatic sprinklers because the water company has the line shut off and locked tight, so he took it upon himself to keep the lawn alive with a garden hose.
Before actually giving it any thought, I questioned his reasoning behind using his precious time and water bill for a random lawn. His response?
"Well, to keep it from getting brown and ugly."
What does this have to do with commercial real estate, you might wonder?
Well, not much directly, but it does have a lot to do with it indirectly because we are all in this “downturn” together, whether we're in the commercial real estate industry, residential real estate, or any number of other businesses and industries that make up the many-faceted US and global economies. And yes, regardless of whether we are still technically in a recession or not, I believe we're still in a downturn or at best a sluggish recovery. This isn't my idea. I've heard more than one economist and more than one commercial real estate executive express this same thought.
My co-worker's lawn fits into this story because, as I remember Richard Hollowell remarking at one of our RealShare Apartment conferences this fall, the single-family residential market remains troubled.
Hollowell, a managing director at the Reznick Group, pointed out that banks by the end of 2011 would have foreclosed on 800,000 single-family homes. Not sure if that number turned out to be 100% accurate, but it makes me wonder:
With all those foreclosed homes, who is responsible for the foreclosed house next door? What roles do local government, police enforcement, banks, the neighborhood, and my co-worker have on the maintenance of these many foreclosed properties? I mean, we know real estate agents love a green lawn.
It creates a "sellable" image.
My co-worker says he waters the lawn next door because it's in his own self-interest. Another of his neighbors mows the lawn of the foreclosed house for the same reason. Unfortunately, we can't expect all of the neighbors in all of the neighborhoods everywhere to pitch in and take care of all of the lawns of foreclosed houses. And even if they did, it wouldn't solve the underlying economic problems that are killing lawns across America. I look forward to the day when my co-worker no longer has to water the neighbor's lawn, and when all of the dead lawns in America return to life because the economy has recovered. The tally of dead and dying lawns is not something you see in the official reports on the economy, but it's one of my own personal economic indicators. What are yours?
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
