Half Empty? Why are 6.5% and 94.3% important numbers?

So often the national media adopts the pessimistic glass half empty perspective relative to the economy and almost every other issue, hence the emphasis of this post. Things are certainly not as robust from an economic standpoint as they were just two years ago although many of our economic indicators are still very positive.



6.5%....was the increase in Colorado's personal income between the first quarter 2007 and the first quarter 2008. Nationally, the increase in personal income was 4.8% from '07 to '08. This type of growth is indicative of the solid underlying American economic fundamentals even amidst the turmoil we see in the credit markets and on Wall Street.



94.3%...is the EMPLOYMENT rate in the US as of August/September 2008. The national indicator for so many years has been the unemployment rate, the national media and even economists create commentary based on the how many people are not working. Why do economists focus on the unemployment rate which is always the smaller number? The answer: the trend in unemployment and the associated effects are what concerns economists, lack of productivity, drain on government welfare programs and the like.



The commercial real estate market along the front range has felt the effect of slower economic times during 2008. Lease rates have been relatively flat throughout Colorado for the first time in many years. There are more users looking to lease space as credit markets have tightened. On the other side for commercial investors there are deals to be made as larger inventories of industrial, office, and retail properties have created more opportunity to find a deal.

www.edgecommercialproperties.com, www.iedge.com