A veteran industrial broker has a few things to say about Susan Ruby’s recent column for GlobeSt.com observing whether the industrial sector has bottomed out in Florida. Ted Bywater, chairman of Orlando-based Bywater Co., has a deeper perspective on the sector dating back to the mid-1970s downturn.
“In those days, there was almost no business. No one was moving into town and no one was expanding,” Bywater recalls. Even after an Orlando economic development group placed ads in the Wall Street Journal offering warehouse space for sale as low as $7 per square foot, there were still no takers, he says.
“This market is not that bad yet, but probably will be before it’s all over with,” Bywater says. “The owners today apparently have much deeper pockets then the owners did in those days, as they keep the offering prices at unrealistic levels in hopes a fool will soon show up. Until they throw in the towel and let the prices drop to the level that can be supported by the income stream, the sales are going to be insignificant.”
Industrial owners got wise in 1976 and lowered their prices to real market value, after which wise investors began buying up cheap inventory and kicking the market back into high gear, says Bywater, an editorial advisor to Real Estate Florida. “That has yet to happen this time,” he says. “Until it does, it is going to be hard to make a decent living in the commercial real estate business.”
What’s your take on industrial? Is it about to bounce, or will it sink a while longer?
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