The late-19th century German economist, Adolph Wagner, observed that as progressive industrialized economies grow the public sector expands as a percentage of the overall economy. Wagner’s observation, which later became known as Wagner’s Law, or “The Law…
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GSA Lease Terminations: How Often Do They Occur?
Investors and lenders frequently ask how often GSA exercises its termination rights. It’s a necessary question because roughly 75% of GSA leases contain some form of cancelation clause–typically a rolling right to terminate. The trepidation caused…
Social Security’s Shrinking Footprint
The Social Security Administration is shrinking—though, as more and more baby boomers arrive at the age of SSA entitlements, the demands on it are growing. A report issued late in August by the Government Accountability Office…
VA and the Problem of Old Properties
A century and a half ago, after the Civil War had ended, the federal government began an ambitious program of building national hospitals for wounded veterans—a few at first, and then, as those veterans became elderly,…
Colliers Releases Its Q2 2017 Top Office Metros Snapshot
This past week, Colliers published its “Top Office Metros Snapshot” focused on ten of the nation’s most notable office markets. All of these are among the top 20 metros occupied by GSA so we take an…
A Look at GSA Rent Growth
Portfolio investors of GSA-leased properties will be pleased to learn that GSA gross rents have, on the whole, performed reasonably well in the past ten years. GSA leases typically do not contain rent escalations–in fact, in…
Federal Leasing After The Paris Withdrawal
For those of you who have recently awakened from a coma, here is a news alert: President Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris climate change agreement. Predictably, there has been a tsunami of commentary on…
The Greying of GSA’s Leased Inventory
As illustrated in the graph above, the average age of buildings leased by GSA has hovered at or around 15 years through the 2000s. Yet, recently that figure has been trending older. The GSA leased inventory is aging.…
Aligning Facilities and Needs at the VA
The federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) owns or operates 168 medical centers and 1,053 outpatient facilities that serve a population of 8.9 million veterans each year, ranking it among the largest healthcare providers in the…
GSA Leases Appear to be Growing Longer
The GSA property market has been characterized by a relative scarcity of long-term leases. This unwillingness of federal agencies to commit to long-term contracts is due to budget distress, mission uncertainty and challenges complying with OMB mandates to reconfigure…