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Do You Know These Essential Zoning Terms?

The concept of zoning is fairly simple. A governing body enacts laws to create districts within its jurisdiction and regulations to govern the uses and structures inside those districts. The creation of these districts and regulations are designed to serve the jurisdiction’s general welfare by promoting growth and development in accordance with the body’s planning …

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10 Boring Boilerplate Commercial Lease Clauses You Should Understand

You’ve read the first ten pages of the proposed commercial lease and are satisfied that it reflects the deal points. And then you get to the last three pages and the section titled “Miscellaneous.” Your eyes glaze over and you consider pouring that fourth cup of coffee. Or, you think, these are just “boilerplate” terms …

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How to Analyze Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Projects

A commercial real estate developer identifies a property ideal for its use, but because he can’t find a way to make the project financially feasible, he considers looking elsewhere. The city though wants the developer to undertake the project because it would replace property that generates negative social and economic impacts with a property that …

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How The Equity Multiple Works In Commercial Real Estate

The equity multiple is a commonly used performance metric in commercial real estate, and yet it’s not widely understood. In this short article, we’ll take a look at the equity multiple as it’s used in commercial real estate, and we’ll also walk through several examples step-by-step. What Is The Equity Multiple? First, what exactly is the …

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Mortgage Constant: A Calculation Guide

The mortgage constant, also known as the loan constant, the debt constant, or the mortgage capitalization rate, is an important concept to understand in commercial real estate finance. Yet, it’s commonly misunderstood. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the mortgage constant, discuss how it can be used, and then tie it all …

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Mezzanine Financing Basics and The Intercreditor Agreement

Financing short falls within the commercial real estate market have become a common occurrence. The great recession has made traditional lenders more sensitive to risk, frequently leaving developers and project investors with large financing shortfalls. Sponsors can seek family and friends financing or a larger joint venture (JV) equity injection, but occasionally this gap may …

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U.S. Employment Growth Trends by State – December 2012

Here is the December 2012 edition of our employment growth trends data. If you’d like to access more data like this, complete with interactive charts and graphs for every state, MSA, and county in the United States, sign up now for a free trial.

When Will Commercial Real Estate Fully Recover?

The recession officially ended back in 2009 and the economy has been growing ever since, yet it still feels like a recession to most people.  Why is this and how long will it take to get back to normal?  More importantly, what does this mean for commercial real estate?  First, let’s take a look at …

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August 2012 Employment Growth Rates by State

Here’s a table from our database showing total non-farm employment growth for all 50 states in the US, as well as the District of Columbia. Growth rates are in descending order by year-over-year growth, and the table also includes growth rates for the past month, as well as 3 and 5 year periods. For comparison …

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U.S. Employment Growth Trends by State

We’ve created an interesting infographic (click to enlarge) from our database showing employment growth trends for all U.S. states.  If you’d like to dig into this data in more detail with interactive charts and graphs, request an invite.