After the freefall of 4Q08, Tampa Bay’s user and investment office market started to gain traction in mid-2009. Tenants and investors now have a better picture of how revenues and expenses will look as a continued contraction of the office space market persists.

LAKELAND - As we close out 2009, overall Polk County industrial vacancy stands at 13.9%, year-to-date absorption is negative, and average asking rates have softened again slightly. Overall vacancy ticked up by 330 basis points from this time last year. Much of this increase in inventory can be attributed to a handful of large blocks of space vacated this quarter in the East Polk submarket, with this submarket’s overall vacancy approaching 25%.

LAKELAND - Dean Saunders, president of Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate, is considered one of the leading land sales professionals in the industry - having earned the 2008 Coldwell Banker Commercial Global Sales Professional of the Year award less than three years after joining the organization.

Saunders comes from a family with long history in Florida agriculture, but his career has taken an interesting path as he was a former Florida legislator prior to becoming the owner of a Coldwell Banker Commercial affiliate.

TAMPA - After launching two years ago - and following a hiatus to help fellow commercial real estate professionals who were down on their luck - the co-founders at FOCUS Real Estate Services LLC have come out of the blocks strongly with a new assignment and a fresh perspective.

BGK Group, which has a 20 msf portfolio of office, industrial, retail and multifamily properties in 26 states, selected FOCUS to provide comprehensive property management services for its 165,105sf Cypress Point Office Park and Cypress Point Executive Suites in Carrollwood at 10004 – 10014 N. Dale Mabry Highway.