Commercial Real Estate is still moving along at a pretty good clip. It is probably down a little bit from last year, bet we continue to see very active interest in well priced properties.

Buyers looking for small multifamily units (5 - 25 units) in the area North of Downtown St. Petersburg are most predominate, followed by buyers for clean warehouse space in the Dome District and Pinellas Park areas.

Insurance for properties continues to be a problem, but this issue has eased as Allstate comes back online with their products. If you are buying, take the time to shop around for insurance. The prices are all over the place. On recent transactions for small multifamily we have seen the following wildly varying quotes:

5 units on 18th Ave NE: $6,500 up to $11,000.
11 Units by Crescent Lake: $6,000 to $10,500 (The low quote was from Citizens, believe it or not)
6 units in Midtown: $7000 to $8000.

Loans are available, mostly from the regional banks in the area. Bank of St. Petersburg, Old Harbor, Southern Commerce, First Community Bank of St. Petersburg to name a few. The bigger banks are not so competitive in the market right now. For larger multifamily, look to WaMu Commercial (Send me an email if you need specific contacts).

Warehouse continues to be in strong demand from local and regional users. Office is also slow and showing large vacancies.