- May 12, 2024
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In 2006, the average commercial rental price per square foot in Flagler was 36% higher than state average. Not so now.
During the economic boom about five years ago, the cost to rent commercial space in Palm Coast and Flagler County was considerably higher than the state average. However, a slumping economy dropped rent prices in town far below the state average. Now, prices are creeping back to the state average.
According to LoopNet.com, an online commercial real estate listing service, the average renting price in early 2006 in the county and city was around $25 per square foot. The state average was closer to $19.
The numbers came in to concert in January 2008, at around $20. But the economy slowed down the growth in town, and the county and city averages dipped to around $12 per square foot toward the end of 2010. The state average maintained its $14-per-square-foot level.
As of October 2011, the prices in the city, county and state have evened back out. The state average is $15, while the city and county averages are both $14.22.
Margaret Sheehan-Jones, a commercial real estate broker for ParkSide Realty Group, said that because of recent market fluctuations, landlords and owners have had to be flexible with prospective tenants.
“It’s an interesting market because it has caused all of us to become very creative in how we structure deals,” Sheehan-Jones said Monday.
Some creative ways for landlords or owners to rent out space is by offering “concessions,” she said.
Some concessions might be offering a few months of free rent if a longer lease is signed.
But George DaConceicao, co-owner of four buildings along Old Kings Road North, in Palm Coast, said his rent prices haven’t really changed since he began renting commercial space in 1992.
DaConceicao said he has a total of 60 units in his four buildings and estimates his occupancy rate to be about 70%.
“(Our occupancy rate) is very good for the times,” DaConceicao said. “And our vacancies consist mostly of businesses that were in the real estate sector.”
For a 900-square-foot unit in a building built about 10 years ago, DeConceicao said his rent prices range between $1,350 and $1,500 monthly. A $1,500-per-month rent translates to $16.67 per square foot. The lower end equals $15.
DaConceicao said his rent includes most water, sales tax, maintenance of common areas and parking lots and additional air-conditioning units in case a tenant is experiencing problems.
DaConceicao and his business partner, Manuel Costa, built building No. 25 nearly 20 years ago.
He said he really hasn’t offered any incentives for potential renters, but is always willing to help accommodate an individual tenant.
“We don’t take advantage of the situations,” DaConceicao said of the current economy. “The market is soft, but if the market was the other way around, we wouldn’t go to whichever tenant and say, ‘We have to raise your rent because the market is up and you’re paying less.’”
Sheehan-Jones said activity has picked up in recent weeks. She estimates the commercial vacancy rate in Flagler County to be around 22%.
“We’re seeing it start small,” Sheehan-Jones said.
Contact Andrew O’Brien at [email protected].
