Continued from Part 1
Trends for Call Centers
There are several trends that impact the location and operations of call centers.
- Transition from Call Centers to “Information Centers.” Expanding the modes of communication from voice to e-mail, and to the Internet and e-commerce impacts the transition of call centers to information centers.
- Globalization of Business. Driven by cost, labor access, culture and language, a growing trend is the placement of call centers throughout Canada, South America, Europe, India and Australia. For example, Canada has targeted call centers as one of their key areas of economic development – particularly in the more remote areas. With advanced telecommunications technology, low operating cost and the availability of high quality, multi-lingual labor, Canada is experiencing a 24% annual growth rate in call center staffing and currently has an estimated 6,500 call centers.
- New Work Environments: Working Remotely. To leverage the positive attributes of working remotely, the operation of a call center will take a significant shift, and will rely even more heavily on technology to manage call volume and to deliver training while keeping the organization focused under a uniform culture.
Developing a Call Center Location Strategy
Your strategy may vary depending on the overall size of the operation and the geographic distribution that they serve. A call center location strategy focuses around the following elements:
By commercial real estate agent Denise Bernard
Over the past decade, the number of call centers has increased dramatically – driven by technology and the increased desire of customers to transact their business or obtain immediate access to information over the telephone.
Call centers are increasingly important in businesses’ customer care strategies. As a result, finding an ideal location for your call center may be challenging. Developing an effective strategy for locating a call center can ultimately improve call center operations, reduce the time needed for location selection, and facilitate the start-up of your new operation.
Six Factors to Consider for Call Center Site Locations:
- Operating Costs. Labor costs (salary, benefits, recruiting and training) typically comprise 75% of a call center’s operating budget. When evaluating a community as a potential location, the cost of labor can be determined through multiple sources including: published data; interviews with employees using a third party; and surveying the market with proxy ads in the local paper or on the Internet.
- Qualified Labor. As the dynamics of a labor market change, the ability to compete for labor in a given location may become an issue. There are a number of indicators of the potential strength of a local labor market: area demographics; local sources of labor; competition; and skill enhancement.
Well it is spring 2011 and we in the Commercial Real Estate sector (mainly retail) are wondering what the future will bring, hoping it will be an improvement on the last few years.
As we all know after the Financial Crisis that engulfed the US in 2008, the Commercial Real Estate market was particularly hard hit. Tenants were going bankrupt and storefronts were going dark. With no new tenants to fill the space lenders and investors took a wait and see attitude (sometimes referred to as delay and pray). Everyone was risk adverse to say the least, and many hunkered down waiting for the other shoe to drop. Some speculated that cap rates on investment quality leases (CVS, Walgreens, McDonalds, etc) could hit double digits. So everyone sat back and waited. Well thankfully that did not happen. Cap rates began creeping up but with a limited supply of good properties on the market they moved back down close to where they were before the crash for Class A product in Class A markets. The main problem now is there is no supply of these properties because very few were built over the last few years.
That brings us to Spring, 2011. Many of the empty storefronts have filled up in the stronger markets and New Hampshire is in better shape than many states even MA, ME, and VT when it comes to unemployment and foreclosures. So what do we see as we move forward?
When a business owner decides to lease commercial real estate, there are a number of items that should be addressed prior to actually conducting a search. Whether they are leasing for the first time, renewing at their current location, changing their space configuration or relocating, the upfront preparation and foresight will be beneficial as they continue through the lease process.
Budget:
The owner should prepare a budget which will help provide a general idea of the amount of funds available for leasing costs. Knowing the funds available will allow the search to concentrate on the total lease cost formula which is a function of location, building type, square footage and various other factors.
Location/Property Type:
Once the budget is completed, selecting a location and property type are perhaps the next most important step. The location and property type should be identified based on what is most essential to the Tenant. If a retail establishment, it may be a high traffic count area. If a manufacturing concern perhaps the right demographics for supplying an efficient work force are essential. If the Tenant is a high profile company, possibly a city high rise is appropriate. Either way, selecting the proper location and property type will help pinpoint the opportunities available and the best direction to pursue.
By Tom Duffy, Commercial Services Manager
The most apparent upturn in the commercial markets today is the recovery of the commercial multi-family market. Apartments are popular again, now that home ownership is out of reach for so many, due to stringent mortgage guidelines.
According to a study by Reis, Inc., national apartment vacancies fell by half a percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, from 7.1 percent to 6.6 percent, Close to 58,000 new units were filled. Despite the fact that the fourth quarter is usually a weak period for the apartment market, given that most families decide to move and lease new apartments during the second and third quarters when school is out.
The good news is that it appears to be a real trend; this latest drop in the vacancy rate follows one of the sharpest drops on record during the third quarter, on top of the fact that the fourth quarter is usually prone to seasonal weakness.
As a result of this new demand, rents are UP. Asking and effective rents each grew by 0.5 percent. It’s also encouraging that effective rent kept pace with asking rent, which means that landlords are having to make fewer concessions. Experts at Reis Inc. cite an improving economy and improving sentiment about the labor market. This latest data also appears to prove that the apartment sector bottomed in the fourth quarter of 2009. It is now leading the recovery in commercial real estate, as the office and retail sectors don’t get the boost from the change in housing demand.
Article by Tom Duffy, Prudential Verani Commercial Manager
About a year ago, I blogged about the incredible opportunity in commercial real estate investing. The phone never rang; investors remained in hiding, peering through the blinds, waiting for all the bank foreclosures that the media have promised. “Two trillion of CMBS loans will be foreclosed!” said the chicken littles of the commercial world. Part of that was right! The BS part.
Everyone deserves a second chance. This time its YOU!
We’re getting some improving numbers on the commercial real estate market, and it’s worth mentioning.
Yes, delinquencies in commercial mortgage backed securities are still rising and still a big headwind, and yes trophy properties in the big markets are faring far better than second and third tier markets.
I’m not saying it’s on fire, but it’s on the upswing.
Today I heard from two experts in the sector who seemed quite bullish. First, Sam Chandan of Real Capital Analytics. Next week he will put out a report saying that 2010 saw $115 billion in commercial real estate transaction volume, up from $54.6 billion in 2009 (up 111 percent!).
Commercial Real Estate Favors Business Expansion with Incentives !
Article by Realtor.org
Commercial real estate sectors, hurt by weak job growth, are offering incentives in many areas that are conducive to business expansion, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, fallout from the recession continues to impact commercial real estate. “Vacancy rates are beginning to level off in some sectors, but rent discounts and moderate levels of landlord concessions are widespread,” he said. “This is very much a tenant’s market, which is quite favorable for businesses that are considering expansion. It’s also encouraging that there is a modest improvement in the sentiment of commercial real estate practitioners.”
The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, in its SIOR Commercial Real Estate Index, an attitudinal survey of more than 600 local market experts, shows vacancy rates are beginning to level, but rents remain depressed, and subleasing space is high.
Sentiment indicators say “ Start Buying commercial Real Estate”!
SENTIMENT is the contrary indicator in all markets. When the vast majority is very positive, it is time to SELL. After all who is left to buy? When the vast majority is very negative, it s time to BUY.
A recent survey of Loopnet participants offers some evidence of where we are in the cycle. Loopnet is perhaps the largest listing database in the country whose participants are agents and investors.
According to the results of the latest LoopNet Pulse Poll, completed by 1500 LoopNet members in January: “ just under half of LoopNet members expect a recovery in transaction volumes in 2010, while a substantial number are expecting to wait until 2012. Prices are expected to continue falling, while access to capital continues to be cited as the most important barrier to a recovery. Running slightly counter to these overall trends, 60% of investors are personally expecting to make at least one purchase within six months.”
OK! They are saying that they are buying when a property’s price falls to their irresistible level. The professionals typically use a rate of return ( 10-12% NOI or higher) or a historical level ( 10 year low price). Investors should set some decision criteria so that they can be ready to jump at opportunity.
The results are in, 90+ New Hampshire businesses have been recognized as the best in their field.
New Hampshire Business Review’s 3rd Annual “Best of Business” awards dinner took place March 11, 2010 in Concord. Winners were voted on by business professionals from across the state. We are proud to announce that Prudential Verani Realty received the “Best Commercial Real Estate Broker” award!
Giovanni Verani, Senior Vice President of Prudential Verani Realty was thrilled. “I am truly honored to win such a prestigious award. This award is especially important to me because it is voted on by our consumers. Thanks to all the hard working Prudential Verani agents that helped win this award.”
Shopping for a terrific real estate investment?
The multi-family market in Manchester, New Hampshire is a very attractive place to start. Nick Hardman at Prudential Verani Commercial Services recently sold a five family property on Somerville Street for $300,000. The property even had tenants and was well maintained!
“I like helping sellers and buyers with multi’s”, said Hardman.” There are a number of pitfalls that can trap a novice investor. I have worked for a property manager of such properties, so I know what to watch for.”
In the last 10 weeks there have been 38 sales of such properties in Manchester, with 3 to 7-unit properties comprising about half of them. The average price per unit is $30,000 to $60,000 per unit, depending on the property conditions. Some distressed and bank owned properties are selling for even less.
