In recent years, many people have relayed the same situation as they approach retirement age: They bought an investment property 20 or 30 years ago that has appreciated beyond their wildest dreams. But that’s where the good news ends. Now that they are older or possibly already retired, they have lost interest in continuing to manage the property.

Affordability, custom-design and time-efficient construction are just a few reasons for the steady increase in the sale of modular or factory-constructed homes – grounds for popularity that the banking industry is taking into account when offering construction loans for new houses.

The high cost of operating and maintaining a commercial building comes as no surprise to owners and property managers of office, industrial and retail dwellings. But even the most savings-savvy might be caught off guard by data indicating that lighting expenses are the highest utility cost, accounting for an alarming 40 to 50 percent of total electric bills.

Some industry observers predict that the virtual office phenomenon will add more than 15 million participants worldwide over the next five years. With dramatic technological advances, the definition of what constitutes an office has changed to the point where an office can exist anywhere, even solely in cyberspace.

The challenges of operating a business are many and seem to be increasing all the time. From higher office space rentals to changing tax laws, each year brings its own set of new rules and standards – and subsequent concerns about where to cut costs.

As the residential mortgage market continues to contract, loan originators ought to take a look at different revenue sources to compensate for shrinking fee income. Small-balance commercial mortgages may be the answer.

It is a $120 billion market. And while refinancing in the residential market is declining, it is increasing in the small-balance commercial market.

Christopher O’Hara of Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT recently helped broker a 50,000-square-foot lease of warehouse space in Milford.

Connecticut retailers are hoping to put the brakes on a state Senate bill crafted in response to the TJX Cos. fiasco.

Joel Nesson, senior advisor at Press/Cuozzo Realtors Commercial Services, was the sole agent for a recent deal in New Haven.

Nesson represented both the landlord and the tenant, Pro Style Haircutting Services, in a five-year lease for retail space at 770 State St. The lease was executed at the beginning of March.

Some recent warmer weather may have people thinking about summer vacation, but the actual bookings are likely to wait.

Industry professionals are trying to adjust to a travel market that now likes to make its lodging plans in as little as one or two days in advance.