Thursday, December 13, 2007

U.S. Commercial Real Estate

The United States of America is one of the largest countries in the whole world. It is made up of 50 states, which are semi-independent. There are a number of large cities in the U.S., including Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, to name a few.

There are numerous tourist attractions in the United States. These include The Statue of Liberty, The Grand Canyon, and Yosemite National Park, to name a few. There are also a wide variety of events occurring at different locations in the country all throughout the year, which attract numerous people worldwide. Some of the major events in the country include the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Labor Day, to name a few. Watching and playing sports are also much loved pastimes in the country. The U.S. has professional teams for most sports, including basketball, baseball, football, soccer and hockey.

The United States is home to one of the largest commercial real estate industries in the whole world. In the late 1980s up to the early 1990s, the real estate industry in the United States experienced a major collapse. Since then, various efforts have been made to re-build the industry to its present competitive state. The tax code was amended, and real estate investment trusts , or REITs, became public. Large private investors also became interested in the commercial real estate industry. Also, after the technology bubble popped in the 1990s, more and more people became interested in owning real property, and subsequently, investing in the commercial real estate industry.

The commercial real estate industry in the United States is stimulated by the country's economy, which is of a capitalist mixed type. The United States contributes approximately 20 percent of the gross products in the world. It is one of the largest importers and exporters of goods, and is one of the biggest industrial powers in the world.

Commercial real estate in the United States is now considered as a new asset class. In the past several years, the real estate industry has been flourishing, and has become more appealing than even the U.S. stock market. Currently, the values of office spaces and retail properties are still on the rise, while long-term interest rates remain at affordable levels. Several cities in the country have experienced the real estate boom, including New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago. These characteristics make real estate a very attractive industry for investors to get into.

Although the recent subprime mortgage crisis has begun to affect even the commercial real estate industry, as seen in the decreasing prices of stocks of various mortgage companies, different analysts are still optimistic regarding the future of commercial real estate in the country. Various commercial real estate deals, involving hotels and business offices, are still getting finalized.

Moreover, a recent bill favoring the commercial real estate industry has recently been re-authorized by the U.S. Congress. The bill, known as the terrorism risk insurance program, provides adequate real estate coverage for different forms of terrorist attacks, such as nuclear, chemical, biologic or radiologic. This form of security is essential in the commercial real estate industry in the United States.

With all of these factors in play, the U.S. commercial real estate industry will surely continue growing in the years to come.

From Goarticles.com

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