According to this story by Financial Week writer Frank Byrt, retail vacancies are at a 12-year high. Office vacancy rates are beginning to rise, too.

Mirroring the problems in the residential real estate industry, the demand for commercial real estate is also mired in a big slump.

When it comes to green building, I always ask one question: Does building environmentally friendly residences and commercial properties bring any benefits to developers and builders? There’s more evidence than ever suggesting that yes, it does.

If you’re tired of the U.S. residential real estate market’s struggles, you might consider moving, to China.

The Blackstone Group bought Equity Office for $39 Billion including debt.  Equity Office used to be the nation’s largest office landlord.  
Blackstone has since been successfully flipping the commercial properties. Six months after the deal was announced, the company had sold nearly half of the properties  preserving back 70% of their initial investment. It is part of their strategy to reduce the debt load, specially since many of the properties have relatively low yields. 
This just proves that there are still great opportunities for flipping properties, given the right type of property and strategy in place.
You can read more about …read more

As a supplement to my previous blog; "The View from the Top: have a glimpse of the things to consider for a modern day office!", I would like to introduce to you the current tallest building in the world Taipei 101.
Incidentally, it is an office building.
It surpassed the height of Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur in August 2003.
The building is a landmark in Taipei, Taiwan and it has 101 stories above ground; thus the name Taipei 101.
It is the most technologically advanced skycraper constructed to date.
Some of its Notable Features are:
i. Fiber optic and satellite internet connections allowing …read more

Blaine Weber of Weber + Thompson, an architectural firm based in Seattle, Washington pointed out in his article "Ten high-rise office building design trends" the things you should consider for a modern day office.  The article was written way back in 2002 but it is still worth a read if you are considering to update your office and adapt the design ideas of some of the top companies in the world.
The Ten Design Trends mentioned in the article were:

Safety and Security  – The newer buildings in compliance with the latest building codes can comfortably withstand forces of nature such …read more

This modular office furniture is ideal for start-up companies, specially those who are just starting to hire employees.
If you started the business as a one-man band, chances are you got used to taking full control of the operations.  To hand over an important task to a new employee is not always easy, particularly if you built the business from scratch.  Even if you delegate a job, you may want supervision or consultation that everything is in order and up to the standards you have set.
This office furniture provides an informal set-up for a small business with a team of …read more

Feng Shui literally means wind and water.  It is often referred as the ancient Chinese art of placement to achieve harmony with the environment.
Acoording to Darrrin Zeer, author of Office Feng Shui: Creating Harmony in your Work Space

"A clean and organized office space with everything in order allows energy to flow and frees you up to calmly mastermind your projects."

Natural energy is always flowing around us, but it can sometimes be caught up in clutter and disorganization that it can’t be fully utilized.  The principles of feng shui allows us to open up the space to allow the "chi" or …read more

I’ve been searching the web for guidelines in choosing a suitable office space, when I chanced upon this article by Lee Ann Obringer, "How Finding Office Space Works". 
She discussed a lot of interesting topics that will guide you on how to choose an office space, whether to buy or to lease, finding a good location to closing the deal.  It is full of practical tips and information that is easy to understand and apply in your search for an office space.  It is also loaded with links that can further aid you in looking, studying and finding the best …read more