Too much of everything: Restaurants and Post Offices

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Too much of everything: Restaurants and Post Offices

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 | Economics |

The other day I wrote: “It will take years to run through the current real estate glut. We could quit building now and not need to build another house, condo, strip mall, office building, restaurant, bank branch, vacation home, hotel, or car dealership for years, possibly even a decade.”

Here’s more evidence to support that conclusion.

Restaurants: 22nd Consecutive Month of Traffic Declines in June:

The restaurant industry’s economic challenges continued to persist in June, as the National Restaurant Association’s comprehensive index of restaurant activity declined for the second consecutive month. The Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 97.8 in June, down 0.5 percent from May and its 20th consecutive month below 100.

Restaurant operators also reported negative customer traffic levels in June, marking the 22nd consecutive month of traffic declines.

CRE Report: U.S. Postal Service Might Consolidate up to 14 million Square Feet

[T]he USPS could be studying the consolidation of more than 14 million square feet of retail/office/industrial space across the country. To put that in perspective, 14 million square feet would be the equivalent of about all of the vacant retail space in a market such as Boston or Cleveland or Denver or the Inland Empire or Tampa.
…
In May, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report en titled “U.S. Postal Service - Network Rightsizing Needed to Help Keep USPS Financially Viable.” The GAO study criticized the USPS for failing to take the necessary steps to remain viable, such as “rightsizing its retail and mail processing networks by consolidating operations and closing unnecessary facilities,” and “reducing the size of its workforce.”

Previously - Too Much of Everything: Condominiums

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1 Comment to Too much of everything: Restaurants and Post Offices

Time to Stop Building? - Real Estate Investing
August 5, 2009

[...] From our friend Les Jones is evidence that this could be the time to stop building. We have an overabundance of housing, strips malls, empty restaurants, and other retail so it’s time to consider just stopping until we fill what’s currently vacant. [...]