Most readers of this blog know that renting versus owning right now is almost a no-brainer, and buying real estate in order to rent it out right now is just plain foolish. Now, I haven’t been following the commercial real estate market as closely as residential, but I would have a hard time believing that things are drastically different there. But leave it to a company from California to try to convince businesses otherwise:
A California developer of an office complex that will break ground next month in Snoqualmie aims to convince small business owners here that it’s better to own their space than to rent one.
…
While the company prefers to call its units “individual business properties,” as opposed to condos, the concept behind its Venture Commerce Centers is “almost identical to the residential model,” said Berryhill.“Most people have discovered it’s more advantageous to own your own home than to rent,” said Berryhill. His company believes the same holds true for business owners.
“If you know you’re going to do the same thing for the next five, 10 or 30 years, rather than pay a landlord for 30 years, it makes a heck of a lot more sense to own your own property,” Berryhill said.
I’ll give them that if you’re talking about 20-30 years, then owning is probably better. But buying 5 years from now after prices either drop or “stagnate” would be even better, don’t you think?
(Clayton Park, King County Journal, 05.23.2006)