Stories by Caleb Smith
Commercial Real Estate
Caleb Smith: What’s the Criteria for Rating Class of Downtown Office Buildings?
What constitutes the difference between a Class A property, a Class A-/B+ property (sometimes referred to as Class A1 or A Prime), a Class B property, and finally, a Class C property? Sounds like a silly question for a real estate investor to be asking, no? Unfortunately, I’m being serious.
By Caleb Smith
Commercial Real Estate
Caleb Smith: The ‘1 Percenters’ of Dallas
The real estate community is a very charitable and giving business community in Dallas, and it's the brokerage firms within our industry that carry most of the weight in that regard. I certainly understand that the ebbs and flows of profitability for landlords. This should not however, relieve the profitable buildings from participating in the fabric of the city.
By Caleb Smith
Commercial Real Estate
Caleb Smith: Our New Brokerage Firm, and Why Fall is My Favorite Time of Year
Our brokerage firm, Spire Realty Brokerage Services, officially became free of any encumbrances and opened for business on Oct. 1, 2012. We have tapped Andrew Schendle and Allison Johnston to spearhead the firm. I like to think that this balances the FYE with a FYB (fiscal year beginning).
By Caleb Smith
Commercial Real Estate
Caleb Smith: The Problem With Opinions
Last month I wrote a blog about an inefficient concession in the real estate market. As might be expected of opinion writing, I received appreciation and accolades, as well as scorn. One email I received literally stated “Hallelujah” and thanked me for mathematically proving the inefficiency of said incentive. On the other hand, I apparently offended many in the real estate community, which was certainly never my intent or desire.
By Caleb Smith
Commercial Real Estate
Caleb Smith: Disturbing Trends in Leasing
In our business, more tenants are asking to use excess TI dollars to pay down rent. This “incentive” has no benefit to the landlord or tenant; in fact, it harms both. The only beneficiaries are the brokers and the government.
By Caleb Smith
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Stories by Caleb Smith
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Caleb Smith: A Break in the Routine
I tend to have a pretty hectic schedule. Still, it allows for plenty of family time with a healthy dose of me time. The only drawback is that it is a schedule. And as such, it limits one’s observational skills.
By Caleb Smith
Commercial Real Estate
Caleb Smith: False Sense of Confidence
Just because you are in a better situation than before does not mean you’re safe. Sure, the economy is showing improvement, a run on banks seems to be in the distant past, and unemployment is down; however, Europe is a mess, the CMBS market has yet to shake out its bad investments, and we still have over eight months of a tumultuous presidential election ahead of us.
By Caleb Smith
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Caleb Smith: Breaking Down the Market in 2012
Happy New Year and all that jazz. Here are my predictions for the 2012 economy and real estate market. I’ve broken it down into thirds, each represented by a day of the week. The first third of the year—January through April—is going to feel like a Monday.
By Caleb Smith
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Caleb Smith: People Are Animals
As a value investor, I don’t invest in gold. It is a fairly useless metal. Its sole value mechanism is tied to the hopes and fears of society at any given point in time. Human “group think” is too fickle and illogical for me to make any sizable bet on the animalistic tendencies of people. Real estate, on the other hand, has true value.
By Caleb Smith
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Caleb Smith: The Perils of Taking the Easy Way Out
I won’t say that laziness is the sole cause of our current economic woes, but it sure appears to be a big part of it. Once our society began looking for the easy way instead of the best way to achieve our goals, we lost our core essence as Americans. We started to blame the banks, politicians, and the rich for our problems—while at the same time looking to those same groups to bail us out.
By Caleb Smith