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Whenever I see a frog, I can't help but smile. Frogs are considered to be "nature's litmus," a test of a healthy, well-balanced ecosystem. Sitting right in the middle of the food chain, frogs are quite sensitive to the environment and can see immediately when things are out of whack.
Property management professionals are in a somewhat similar although less soggy position when it comes to the economic environment. And from my commercial property management perspective, the Idaho business ecosystem is starting to get back into high gear.
When the real estate market was in the thick of the downturn, many businesses, large and small, all along the "food chain" were affected. While some slowed down and went on the endangered species list, sadly, others went extinct.
Let's consider why this happened. In the downturn, we saw an environment with high vacancies, and space was not moving. The building owners became...