Landlords sitting on space

Owners refuse low rents and instead opt to hold off putting properties on the market

From the January issue: Some landlords are waiting out the current down market in an unusual way. Instead of doing everything in their power to find tenants and taking lower rents, they’ve decided to sit on unused space. George Constantin, president and CEO of Heritage Realty Services, which owns office and retail properties around New York, said the company used that strategy for one of the largest retail spaces in Manhattan, at 420 Fifth Avenue. “What we did is essentially wait to make sure we got the best tenant at the best rent, because once we commit to a 10-year transaction, we don’t want to commit to a very low rent,” he said. “And [in 2008], the rents were quite low.”

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter