Interesting look at the state of Outer Banks commercial real estate, and especially Dare County.  As the article points out there is an upside to a currently downturned commercial real estate market.  If you are looking to open or start a business on the Outer Banks, then right now it will cost you considerably less for rent as compared to just a few years ago.  

 

Economic pains on display in Dare's empty storefronts

By Catherine Kozak

 

At numerous storefronts up and down the Outer Banks, "For Lease" signs are taped on windows instead of holiday decorations.

Shoppers are pinching pennies, more diners are eating in, and business owners have been forced to lay off workers, shut down early or close their doors for good. With construction and real estate at rock bottom, few entrepreneurs have the means to open new establishments.

As an Outer Banks retailer and Realtor, Greg Deans has been scotched by both sides of the economic sword: retail and real estate. Too many 12-hour days drove Deans recently to close his shop, Shepherd's Pets, at the Dare Centre in Kill Devil Hills.

"I'm 55 and the economy is getting super tough," he said. "I'm done - I'm going to go exercise the barnacles on my boat."

Dean, who still works part time at Christi Realty in Kitty Hawk, said the dozens of vacant commercial properties on the barrier islands are a direct reflection of the 2006 bust in the housing market. One blessing in the downturn, he said, is that inflated commercial space costs have adjusted considerably lower per square foot.

Read the Whole Article

 

Posted by Mike Bishal on
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