According to a new article on the Women's Wear Daily site by Vicki Young, there is a fascinating trend in retail shopping patterns by shoppers aged 18-25. Here is an excerpt from the article dated January 17th, 2012:

"Consumers between the ages of 18 and 25 would rather shop in brick-and-mortar stores for clothing and shoes, according to a study at LIM College, although 66% said they head online to do product research and price comparisons first. Additionally, while social media plays a role in brand awareness, 88% said they opt not to shop on Facebook or Twitter."

As a broker who does a lot of retail tenant rep work, it is the second sentence that is most surprising. All we hear about these days is the importance of retailers having an active role in the social media world. Pick up any Inc. Magazine or Entrepreneur Magazine and over half of the articles are devoted to helping your business have a stronger social media presence. According to this, that role may not be as important as we once thought.

This is further evidence that you'll never be able to replace the act of touching an item you wish to purchase, no matter how fancy or popular the website and/or social media presence.

What do all of you make of this? What are you seeing out there as far as other fascinating trends in retail shopping patterns?

Make sure to take a look at this Blaine office building for sale listed by Neal Swanson, of Fairhaven Commercial, Inc., for $750,000. With the current financials, this represents a 6.67% cap with less than half the building currently occupied. This is a tremendous opportunity to develop an upside to this unique Blaine office building for sale. Take a look at the flyer here or watch the video below or by checking out the Fairhaven Commercial youtube channel here.

This 12,144 square foot office building for sale in Blaine, WA has three floors with a rooftop deck overlooking the bay and White Rock, BC. It sits just minutes from I-5 and the Canadian border. It has a diverse tenant mix, steady leasing inquiries, and a truly unique renovation completed around 2000.

For more information on this property or another office building for sale in Blaine, WA, be sure to search office buildings in Blaine or Whatcom County here.

Office space in Bellingham is varied in construction type, cost, location, and amenities. Office space in Bellingham is usually marketed by brokers who specialize in commercial real estate, but is sometimes "marketed" by office building owners with a sign in the window or on Facebook. Here is a summary, some stats, and a way to search office space in Bellingham for free.

SUMMARY:

As with most markets, Bellingham has class A, B, and C office buildings (you can google what each "class" of office property means, but everyone has a different definition and it is difficult to compare a class B building in Bellingham with a class B building in Seattle, New York, or smalltown, USA). Bellingham is mostly comprised of class B & C properties. These properties are scattered throughout the city with a concentration in downtown Bellingham, Fairhaven, Iowa Street, and areas of North Bellingham including Bakerview Rd., Meridian, and Pacific Highway adjacent to I-5.

Additionally, office space in Bellingham that is widely considered "class A" can be found in Barkley Village and Bellwether Way near the Hotel Bellwether. Most national tenants will select one of these locations when opening or expanding office space in Bellingham because the office buildings in these areas resemble the class A properties that are found in larger markets. Both of these markets also have plenty of class B properties, but with rare exception, are the only areas in all of Whatcom County with "class A" office buildings.

While there are many variables that can affect the effective rental rate, the following are loose guidelines of pricing for each class exclusive of NNN costs:

Class A: $18-$25.00 per rentable square foot

Class B: $12-$20.00 per rentable square foot

Class C: $4-$14.00 per rentable square foot

Part 2 of 2 in this blog post focuses on the statistics and action steps involved with office space in Bellingham. We will talk about vacancy rates, total office square feet in Bellingham, and most importantly, how you can search for office space in Bellingham for free!

Click here for part 2 of 2 of this post on office space in Bellingham.

Click here to search for office space in Bellingham.

Part 2 of 2 - Office Space in Bellingham

This is part 2 of a report on office space in Bellingham. In part one of that article, I wrote about the current market for office space in Bellingham and discussed the different types of office space, their location, and their pricing. Click here to view Part 1 of the story.

as continued from Office Space in Bellingham - Part 1 of 2

STATISTICS:

The Whatcom County Real Estate Research Report is put out by Western Washington University each year. It covers just about every aspect of real estate in Bellingham, but the section we're concerned with here is the commercial supplement. This supplement, populated by a handful of brokers who exclusively lease and sell commercial real estate, breaks the city down into 26 territories. Each territory has the total square footage that has been constructed in that territory and the total vacant square feet within those buildings. This gives a vacancy percentage that we can then compare to other markets or to our historic records. For the purposes of this post, we'll take a look at the office property statistics.

You can look at the report here, but essentially it says that office space in Bellingham is currently experiencing a 9.69% vacancy rate. There is a total of 5,487,732 square feet of office space in Bellingham, and 531,763 square feet of that total is vacant, and currently being marketed for lease.

This report will never be 100% current, but it does provide benchmarks that can be used when comparing different markets, years, or neighborhoods. Take a look and let me know if you have any qeustions.

NOW WHAT?

Want to know more? Want to search available office space in Bellingham? Here a list of sources for you to search for office space in Bellingham for free:

Want to search office space for lease in Bellingham? Click Here.

Want to search office buildings for sale in Bellingham? Click Here.

Want to search office space for lease in Whatcom County? Click Here.

Want to search offices buildings for sale in Whatcom County? Click Here.

Don’t forget the two biggest reasons to use a broker when searching for your next office, retail, or industrial property for sale or lease in Bellingham are:

1. It is free! Most tenant representation brokers work for free. The landlord pays their fee, typically a percentage of the total lease deal once completed. So why not pick the brain of a broker for an hour or two before you begin your search?

2. The best location for your particular use is not always “on the market.” It could be that the perfect spot for your business is currently available, but only the local brokers are made aware. This is not uncommon and using a broker also insures you’ll be the first to know about listings before they hit the websites mentioned above.

Search office space in Bellingham

As of January 14th, 2012, there are 9 Bellingham office buildins for sale under $300,000. This is a significant shift from where we were just a few years ago where a property under $300,000 sold almost immediately. Bellingham office buildings for sale under $300,000 are usually small, stand-alone buildings with good street visibility. They typically provide good signage opportuniteis but have limited parking available. Most often, these small office buildings in Bellingham are sold to insurance agents, financial planners, salons, small medical establishments, or real estate companies. The mix of size, parking, price, and visibility lends itself to certain uses that can typically afford a small commercial real estate investment like a Bellingham office building for sale under $300,000.

Here is the list of 9 Bellingham office buildings for sale under $300,000 as of 1/14/12:

Address: Price: Size: Lot Size:

1326 E Laurel Street $299,000 2,800 SF .2 acres

2833 Meridian Street $295,000 2,500 SF .06 acres

1305 Cornwall Ave $289,000 12,621 SF .02 acres

303 Potter $279,950 1,800 SF .13 acres

960 Harris #B-103 $250,000 1,164 SF 1 acre

909 Squalicum B-101 $241,250 NA NA

1007 Larrabee $225,000 871 SF .09 acres

910 Harris #104 $195,000 NA NA

1015 Railroad #102 $175,000 612 SF NA

Want to know when new Bellingham office buildings under $300,000 come available? Need assistance with your search for an office building for sale or lease? Have general questions about this list or Bellingham office space in general? Contact Neal Swanson at Fairhaven Commercial, Inc. for more information or questions.

Curious which broker will market your Bellingham office building the best? Let me google that for you....just click here:

Click here to google for the best company to market your office building for sale

Did you know you can search commercial real estate in Bellingham for free? Are you a new or existing business that is interested in leasing or purchasing retail, office, or industrial property in Bellingham, WA? You can search commercial properties for sale or lease in Bellingham for free at the following sites:

Costar – www.costar.com

Loopnet – www.loopnet.com

Commercial Brokers Association – www.commercialmls.com

Fairhaven Commercial, Inc. – www.faircommercial.com

Craigslist – www.craigslist.com

For Bellingham office buildings for sale under $300,000 or Whatcom County office buildings for sale or lease, click on any of the links above to begin your free search!

Source: Individually compiled MLS data from CBA - the commercial MLS. CBA, the NWMLS, or any other company did not compile or publish this information.