Our Greatest Asset: Human Capital
NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc.

In the spring edition of The Linneman Letter, Dr. Peter Linneman, economist for NAI Global, indicates the biggest challenge we face today is not trying to get banks to lend, or to bail out defaulting mortgage payers, or even to address global warming. He states, and I agree, that our greatest challenge facing the US is to prevent over 20% of our young population from having little or no chance to realize their potential. We all work near schools that are dealing with our greatest asset: human capital. Some schools view mediocrity as excellence, and getting by is confused with moving forward. We must direct attention and resources to our educational system to remain competitive. Fortunately, Governor Perdue recognizes this important asset. Just a few weeks prior, she was in our office meeting with a variety of business leaders speaking candidly regarding the challenges our State faces in the coming months including substantial cuts in the budget. She asked the leaders for their ideas and help in positioning North Carolina to be at the forefront of economic recovery in the US. Education and economic development were mentioned numerous times by the guests along with finding ways to help small businesses. All were impressed with her sincerity and her willingness to make the hard decisions necessary to insure North Carolina is on the right track.

At NAI Carolantic, we are working diligently to assist our clients in evaluating their current real estate position. Our recently formed Special Assets Division with our NAI affiliate firms in North Carolina has already helped many clients maximize the value of performing and underperforming assets. For a free analysis of your real estate holdings, email us at questions@naicarolantic.com.

Local Market Update:
jbarnes@naicarolantic.com

Despite a soft market, we have been able to assist many of our clients in new leases or expansions totaling approximately 350,000 square feet in the first quarter of this year. Many tenants with leases expiring within the next 24 months are active in trying to negotiate better lease rates with their owners in return for extending their term. This can be a win-win situation for both the tenant and landlord. Although the landlord will lose current budgeted rent, they are offsetting that with long term commitments and the elimination of the tenant moving in 12-24 months. If the rate is reasonable, the longer term lease is also attractive to lenders and potential buyers.

Vacancy rates are still troubling as they continue to rise in the second quarter hitting 20% in some submarkets. However, we do expect this to level out by year-end and believe the market will begin recharging as we head into 2010. It is tough now to determine the value of existing, free-standing buildings as prices are extremely varied with the limited number of actual sales. Newly completely construction has to compete with older buildings that may work for a tenant who can move in with just new carpet and paint.

On a positive note, our region continues to gain national attention through various accolades, a few of the most recent being: #10 Best City (Raleigh, NC) ranked by Kiplinger's in the May issue; #5 Leading Life Sciences Clusters in the US (Raleigh-Durham, NC) by the Milken Institute in May; #10 High-Tech Centers in the US (Raleigh, NC) ranked by American City Business Journals in May; and #8 Best Big Cities for Jobs (Raleigh-Cary, NC) on Forbes.com noted in May. These top rankings help put our region on the map for businesses looking to expand or relocate to a thriving area of the country. We remain very optimistic on the Research Triangle Region.

Company Profile:

NAI Carolantic is the Raleigh/Research Triangle area's leading commercial real estate firm

• Seventeen Brokers with an average of ten year's experience
• Full-service Property Management Division
• Experienced Marketing & Research Division

Established in 1972, NAI Carolantic is a member firm of NAI Global, the leading international provider of commercial real estate services and solutions.

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NAI Global:

With over 5,000 real estate professionals in over 325 offices in 55 countries worldwide, NAI Global serves corporate, institutional and government clients through its strategically located offices in major, secondary and tertiary markets.

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Featured Properties:

For Lease
Progress Plaza
100 E. Davie Street
Downtown Raleigh

The 19th floor of the Progress Plaza building is available totaling 27,190rsf. The new construction has many upgrades with an open floor plan and private perimeter offices. The building features an on-site parking deck, security guard on site 24 hours, on-site restaurants, and backup power available. Existing new workstations are also ready and available. Competitively priced.

For additional information, please contact Jimmy Barnes, SIOR at jbarnes@naicarolantic.com.

Click here to view the flier.

For Sale
3501 Avent Ferry Road
Raleigh, NC

This 21,714 square foot brick building is for sale with 2.73 acres of excess land adjacent to the building which can be used for expansion or parking. Built in 2002, potential uses for the building include: office, medical office, school or church. Three floors have 30 rooms which can be used for offices, meeting spaces or classrooms. Excellent off campus location only 1.2 miles to Centennial Research campus and 1.7 miles to NC State's main campus.

For more information, please contact Mark Everett at meverett@naicarolantic.com or David Stroud at dstroud@naicarolantic.com.

Click here to view the flier.

NAI Carolantic's Winning Team

NAI Carolantic Realty is pleased to congratulate Kerry Saunders, Director of Marketing & Research on receiving the Professional Commercial Real Estate Service Award.

The award was presented at the 11th Annual Champion Awards hosted by Triangle Commercial Real Estate Women (TCREW). Over 350 business leaders attended the event held in April at the Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The award is given to an individual who provides the best professional commercial real estate service, with consideration for industry knowledge, leadership ability, negotiating skills, work ethic and creativity.