May
28
2012
Commercial Real Estate – Why Invest In It
Author: Chipoy
Many investors don’t understand the power of commercial real estate. I too had reservations until I understood the power and safety commercial real estate can provide. Commercial real estate is similar to trucks. Trucks come in all sizes and all shapes – a Ford Ranger to an 18 wheeler. Commercial properties come in all sizes and shapes – a standalone building that houses a small restaurant to the Empire State Building . People read in the newspapers that commercial property prices are crashing. People notice the strip malls have a lot of vacancies and it scares them away. Let’s take a look at the power of commercial real estate and a quick note about market cycles.
Commercial real estate is a business and is priced based on current cash flows. For simplicity sake, commercial property pricing is based on 10 x annual cash flow, not including debt service (loan). So a property that yields $ 10,000 in cash flow is worth $ 100,000. Regardless of the type of property, if you increase rents by 1% ($ 100) the value goes up a $ 1000. Decrease expenses by $ 100 and the value goes up $ 1000. So what? Let’s look at a simple apartment example.


