Realtors assess the landscape
More than 50 commercial real estate brokers from the Carolinas to Kingston and interested buyers and sellers met at Keller Wiliams Real Estate Wednesday morning in Goshen Sept. 29.
The name of the game was selling parcels throughout the East Coast, with several Keller Williams agents attending the day-long exchange.
Chris Scibelli, owner/broker of two Keller Williams”™ offices, one in Central Valley and the other in Goshen, where the event was held, hosted the event for the second consecutive year. It is patterned after the New York State Commercial Association of Realtors”™ real estate-go-rounds.
“The market is so selective,” said Scibelli. “These are challenging times, and they are going to continue for a while.”
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Realtors from New York to North Carolina hope to see New York replace the current Empire Zone program with something that will be equal to the current tax relief it offers or be even more substantial.
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“Let”™s face it,” said Joel Dropkin, the owner of Creek House Real Estate in Goshen who moderated the event. “New York is one of the most unfriendly states to do business in and something needs to be done if we”™re going to retain business here or bring it in. Other states are going out of their way to draw in new business. We seem to be driving it away.”
If you think other states have it any easier, Realtor Charles Brown from North Carolina said it is “getting harder and harder to find financing. I”™m sure it”™s the same scenario here in New York.”
Dropkin expects to see some setbacks in the commercial sector in 2010, when more adjustable-rate mortgages start to re-adjust. “The residential market is starting to stabilize, but I think we”™re going to see added stress in commercial lending next year.”