Tough Times for Shoppers and Shopping Centers

Author : Ki GrayThere are some conspicuous gaps along the store fronts of South Congress Avenue Looking for Loft Furniture or Cowboy Cool on Second Street? Both these shops have closed in recent months Thinking of stopping into long-time clothing shop Flipnotics on Barton Springs Road? Think again

Americans in general are saving more and spending less these days and Austin seems to be no exception to this trend With the economic outlook still murky and daily news mixed, people are thinking twice before heading out to the mall or their favorite local shops Combine this with the freeze in the financial credit markets, and some businesses can no longer be in business

And the smaller local stores aren’t the only victims Giants like the $192 million Hill Country Galleria are also facing foreclosure Because of frozen financial markets the lenders are facing tough obstacles to refinance The Bee Caves shopping Center opened in October of 2007 and included city hall and a public library It is said that the mall got off to a slow start, but now has shops and restaurants in 70 percent of the available space

The Hill Country Galleria ran into trouble earlier this year when a short-term construction loan came due and there was no avenue available for refinancing, according to the Austin-American Statesman However, the owners feel confident that they will resolve this issue before the shopping center heads to the auction block

Consumer spending dropped off sharply at the end of last year, according to the Associated Press Shoppers seem to be sticking to the necessities such as food, causing same-store sales to fall for the sixth month in a row Big discount retailers, like Wal-Mart are faring better than most “Groceries, health products and accessories remain the most popular sellers, as consumers continue to shop cautiously amid massive job cuts and tight credit ”

However, many analysts believe the picture is not as bleak as the numbers indicate Because Easter was later this year, it is believed that March and April numbers combined will give a better indication of how retailers are doing “On the surface, March is weaker than we’ve been seeing the last few months but we know that’s not the underlying trend,” he said “The tone and comments from retailers really reflect a better performance than reported, but the jury is still out on whether we really have stabilized ”

With stores going out of business or slashing inventories to stay solvent, there is the potential for great deals for the savvy shopper The sales signs might be big and flashy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean everything is a bargain Pay careful attention to how things are worded and don’t get carried away by the hype, particularly in the case of liquidation sales It would stand to reason that these retailers just want to get the products out of the soon-to-be-closing-store as quickly and cheaply as possible, but that is usually not the case These businesses still have to pay their creditors and need every penny they can get for their remaining products While something may be marked down 70 percent, that is typically from the original highest price Ki Works as a realtor in the Austin real estate market. His site provides a free search of Austin MLS listings along with general information on Austin real estate for people curious in investing in the Austin market. It also has information about the Circle C Austin neighborhood.

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