For Immediate Release                                                  
Contact:  Pam Denham
251.656.3843
pdenham@pameladenhamandassociates.com

Mobile, AL (March 10, 2010) - Jeremy Milling, a veteran Mobile real estate broker and industrial specialist with White-Spunner & Associates, serves as a presenter by providing an overview of the area’s industrial market and predictions for 2010 at the University of South Alabama’s 3rd Annual Gulf Cost Commercial Real Estate Summit. This one-day event, sponsored by the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, is held today at the Arthur Outlaw Convention Center in Mobile from 8:30am to 4:30 pm, and offers continuing education credits for professionals in numerous fields.

Milling’s presentation will explain how the industrial market in Mobile and Baldwin Counties has weathered the economic downturn better than other geographic areas. He will also define its ongoing challenges—a trend he attributes to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Immediately following the storm in 2005, warehouse space in the local market was leased without delay since Mobile was the closest port city with minimal infrastructure damage. By providing space for companies that were affected by the storm, the region enjoyed a low vacancy rate and was able to rebound quickly. However, post- Katrina financing and tax incentives spurred developers, resulting in a number of new local industrial properties which came online as the economy was starting to falter. This surge in new properties has contributed to increased vacancy rates in the industrial market over the past two years.

“In 2008, the vacancy rate was 7%. The rate climbed to 17% in 2009 and is expected to reach 23% in 2010,” Milling explains.  “I think we will see a concerted effort in 2010 to maintain existing occupancy levels and minimize, as much as possible, the downward trend in rental rates. This is not a time to have to fill vacancies, so there will be a strong emphasis on retaining existing tenants,” he continues. On a positive note, Milling predicts the ThyssenKrupp Mill in Calvert and the Choctaw Point Container Terminal will help generate activity in the near future.  

Jeremy Milling has been with White-Spunner & Associates for 11 years specializing in commercial sales, leasing and development with a concentration in office, office warehouses, industrial land and investment properties. A graduate of Washington and Lee University, Milling worked with a local financial institution in retail banking and commercial lending before entering the real estate industry.

White-Spunner & Associates is a full-service commercial and residential real estate brokerage and development firm based in Mobile, AL. Since 1954, the firm has maximized the benefits of real estate assets for its clients.