Rubbing Elbows with Adam Comora

Adam Comora, Executive Vice President with NAI Capital’s Encino office, appeared on the Rubbing Elbows show on Thursday.

Adam specializes in office, retail and industrial properties as well as investments. He has extensive experience representing buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants in the sale and leasing of commercial property. During his interview, Adam shared the latest insight into what has been going on locally in Los Angeles’ commercial real estate market since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Here are some of the highlights from his interview.

Sales Versus Leasing

“The sales market seems a little bit more stable right now. Money is cheap, inventory is still limited, and we live in a city where there is a lot of disposable cash and income and people looking to invest into commercial real estate. So, while activity is slow there is somewhat of a stability in the sales market more so than you’re seeing in the leasing market.”

Deal Velocity

“I have a number of deals that I’m working on now that started before COVID and we’re still having issues bringing those deals to the finish line… A lot of people have been waiting, putting things off, putting things to the side. Some people are realizing that they can’t put everything off until tomorrow and that some decisions need to be made today. We’re seeing an uptick on activity overall across the board, but it really depends on which sector you’re in. The multifamily market is very strong right now. The industrial market is still very strong right now. Office and retail are getting hit a bit harder.”

Rethinking Office Strategy

“Once a vaccine is created, is that going to shift things back to the way they previously were? Or, is our new system of remote working, is that efficient for us? Are we getting the most out of it? Maybe we can rethink our office use strategy, maybe we don’t need as much space, maybe we need a different configuration of our office. “

CRE Data

“We don’t have new data to reset the market standards. The data that’s available to us is still mostly pre-COVID data and the deals that have been done since COVID hit are mostly based upon pre-COVID conditions maybe with some extra concessions or slight discounts, but there’s not enough data for us to say that the market has shifted drastically in one direction or the other.”

The Future of CRE Post-virus

“I would think it would be down from today. I can’t quantify an actual number, a percentage that will be down but what I can tell you is this. In the leasing market, landlords have not lowered their face rates. Their asking rates are still what they used to be. However, if you get into a negotiation with a landlord today you are going to end up getting more concessions than you would’ve, say, four months ago. So the deal structures are changing a little bit, but the landlords aren’t ready to just give it away.”

 

Be sure to watch the whole interview for Adam’s valuable insight!