Quarterly: Winter 2004 - GWCAR - Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS

CBQ >> Winter 2004 Issue

Message from the President

Politically, 2003 was indeed tumultuous. Nonetheless, it turned out to be a year of improving leasing conditions in the various greater Washington, DC commercial real estate markets. Furthermore, there seems to be a general feeling of optimism about our national economy, and our local commercial real estate market in particular, in 2004. Good signs abound.

The Northern Virginia market experienced approximately 3 million square feet of positive net absorption, which should be a leading indicator for DC and Maryland markets as well. Right now brokers in all jurisdictions report signs of pent-up demand finally starting to break loose. What's more, 2003 was again a banner year in the investment sales arena with interest rates remaining low and more buyers than sellers, thus driving prices even higher. All of us are truly fortunate to be working in one of the most healthy and dynamic real estate markets in the world.

While 2003 was a year of continued recovery in the leasing markets, it was a GREAT year for GWCAR thanks in large part to the efforts of President Dave Bevirt and our fabulous staff. I would like to extend a big thank you to Dave for a job well done. GWCAR accomplished much, but there is much more to be done. This upcoming year will include a special emphasis on Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland. This year's Board of Directors is more devoted than ever to identify and serve the needs of our membership. We welcome your input.

The GWCAR Public Policy staff including Mary Rudolph and Meredith Weisel continues to keep a watchful eye on any attempts to further tax the commercial real estate industry.

In DC, we are informed that, so far, the mayor is not seeking any new business taxes. GWCAR has assembled a task force to review and recommend whether draft legislation regarding Brokers Liens and Retropocity should be discussed with the DC Real Estate Board and taken to the DC Council for introduction.

In Maryland, GWCAR staff worked closely with the Maryland Association of REALTORS^® to defeat HB 783 (which included a number of corporate tax increases), HB 19 and SB120 (which was the reintroduction of Transfer & Recordation Taxes on the transfer of a "controlling interest" in a corporation). In Montgomery County, GWCAR lobbied the Council to defeat a one percent annual growth cap as part of the proposed 2003 to 2005 Annual Growth Policy (AGP). 2004 is expected to be another active year at the municipal and state levels for GWCAR, especially as we look to expand our political efforts in Virginia.

Finally, I want to challenge each of you to become more involved in GWCAR. Through the course of the year there will be numerous opportunities to become more involved and to make GWCAR better for all of its members. Throughout the year, we will continue to hold our annual events including the Commercial Awards Dinner, RealTOUR, EXPO, State of the Market and the Golf Outing. Additional services will include:

Regional breakfast meetings,

New broker sales training/seminars offered to firms with new agents,

Continuing education classes for license renewal, and

Free training for CoStar products and member exclusive access to CoStar's new property database.

Lastly, GWCAR is proud to participate in the Real Estate Apprenticeship Program (REAP), which is an internship program for minorities.

On behalf of my fellow Board members, we look forward to hearing from and working with you over the course of 2004.