News
ECONOMIC HEADWINDS
May 12, 2011
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| Atlanta's banking industry may get more space still. Georgia Commerce Bank's Mark Tipton says within 15 years, Georgia's 68 banks operating here (down from 102 prior to the credit crisis) may be reduced by half. That will follow closely a national trend, where experts are predicting that half of the current 8,000 banks will survive during that period. Mark (right, smiling for our camera with Hines'John Heagy) spoke yesterday at Hines 2011 Portfolio Speaker Series at 1180 Peachtree in Midtown. He also says he's concerned about companies' access to capital, especially given that half of today's banks in Georgia have already exceeded FDIC guidelines on capital-to-loan ratios for things like construction lending. ?Relationships count in banking now more than ever,? he says. | |
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| In the middle of this panel mix is PKF Consulting's president Mark Woodworth, who says the gap between the haves and have-nots?is bigger than it's ever been.? Mark says this is truly evident in the hospitality industry as occupancy in premium hotel rooms have actually improved faster than discount rooms, the opposite of what was experienced in past post-recession cycles, he says. And both Marks say there are still ?headwinds? against our economy. Mark Woodworth says consumers will remain wary about spending until home prices hit a real bottom. ?There's a huge level of uncertainty that's very pervasive.? | |
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| Tapping the wisdom of the crowd, we chatted about the market with Lee & Associates' Jim Alesi and Lavista Associates' Rob Binion. Rob tells us he recently did a deal for Medlytix, a medical data company, which inked a deal for 6,000 SF at Manswell West in Roswell (Davidson Webster's Peter Webster brokered for the tenant). Rob says the Medlytix deal is evidence that technology companies are leading the way in this recovery. | |
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| Grubb & Ellis' Sean Moynihan agrees: ?They're the ones aggressively looking.? Grubb's Doug Wise (here with PM Realty's David Tyler) says even data center space is strong again. Doug speculates that as companies strive to be more efficient, especially during this past recession, they're relying more on software and tech to do the job of people. Plus with companies ?sitting on tons of cash,? Doug says they're reinvesting in their tech infrastructure, all of which is making the tech sector itself healthy and real estate hungry. |
