I was recently asked by David Winzelberg of Long Island Business News to give him a short assessment of the commercial real estate market on Long Island.  I told him that the Long Island market has always been segmented by both location and type of real estate, and that what’s true in one region might not be true 10 miles away. I reported that in the more desirable areas, the activity is brisk for all types of real estate – industrial, office and retail, and that there is already a lack of inventory in some areas, particularly buildings for sale.

When I spoke before the Long Island Appraisal Institute last November, I reported cautious optimism. Today I can remove the word “cautious.” We are seeing increased activity in all sectors, and showings are much more plentiful than a year ago. The brokerage community still reports difficulty in finalizing transactions, but for the first time in five years, we are seeing tenants and purchasers actually compete for same buildings. A big and welcome change!