Colorado Commercial Real Estate

Renewed Hiring, Leasing Start to Lift Nation's Office Markets

2010-04-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

Click Here to read the article

CBIZ Market View

2010-04-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

Commercial Market Bouncing Back

2010-04-12T07:41:00.001-07:00

Check out what the Denver Business Journal has to say about the commercial market! Read the article here.

SBA Loan Programs

2010-03-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Pending Legislation that will Impact SBA Loan Programs

H.R. 4302 : The "Small Business Job Creation and Access to Capital Act of 2009" was introduced to the House of Representatives on 12/14/09 by Rep. Abercrombie of Hawaii. As of 01/26/10, the bill had just three co-sponsors. This bill, which is loosely modeled on S. 2869 (below) would be a HUGE help to small businesses in Colorado because of (1) the continuation of the 90% guaranty on SBA 7(a) loans and (2) an included provision that would temporarily expand the SBA 504 loan program to allow refinancing of conventional (owner occupied), commercial real estate loans.

S. 2869 : The "Small Business Job Creation and Access to Capital Act of 2009" was introduced to the Senate on 12/10/09 by Senator Mary Landriew of Louisiana. As of 01/26/10, the bill had eighteen co-sponsors, including bi-partisan support. This bill would be a HUGE help to small businesses in Colorado because of (1) the continuation of the 90% guaranty on SBA 7(a) loans and (2) an included provision that would temporarily expand the SBA 504 loan program to allow refinancing of conventional (owner occupied), commercial real estate loans.

It appears that the Senate bill is well supported and is likely to be voted on and subsequently pass. Please contact your local Representatives to encourage them to support, pass and approve the House bill!!!

Source: Colorado Lending Source

There doesn’t seem to be a better way to get a loan for your small business than the Small Business Administration (SBA). Unfortunately these loans are not available for investments, but are available for small business owners looking for money to purchase, build or renovate commercial real estate. The SBA offers long-term fixed interest rate financing. With interest rates so low and properties being priced to sell, there has not been a better time to take advantage of these opportunities. Edge Commercial Properties has several properties that would fit this program perfectly. Please visit our site at www.edgecommercialproperties.com. We work closely with George Taylor to help facilitate these small business loans; he can be contacted at 720-323-7408 for any of your additional questions.

Please feel free to contact us with all of your commercial real estate needs and questions. It would be our pleasure to assist you.

Sincerely,
Heather Taylor
Edge Commercial Properties – www.edgecommercialproperties.com
303-688-3332
heather.taylor@edgecommercialproperties.com

1st Quarter News and Notes

2009-03-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

CSU - SIOR Study Shines Positive Light on Castle Rock Commercial Development

FORT COLLINS - Commercial building permit and plan review fees in 20 cities and counties along Colorado's Front Range range from high - Boulder County at $72,465 - to low - Greeley at $31,275, according to a new study from the Colorado State University Everitt Real Estate Center.

Customer service could be excellent in Castle Rock and Fort Collins to below average in Aurora, according to the study.

To read a copy of the entire study please click HERE.

Source: CSU News & Information

3 Commercial Real Estate Tax Breaks in 2009

The Passage of the Emergency Economic Recovery Stabilization Act of 2008 (H.R. 1424) last fall extended several tax benefits for commercial properties.
1. The 15-Year Straight Line Depreciation Cost Recovery Period: Applies to leasehold improvements placed in service after December 31, 2008 has been extended Through 2009

2. Deductions for Energy Efficient Upgrades: This provision applies to all commercial buildings (excluding apartments) and has been extended through 2013. Deductions are up to $1.80 per SF for buildings achieving a 50 percent use reduction.

3. The Cost of Environmental Remediation: This can still be deducted rather than capitalized for property placed in service after December 31, 2007; this provision has been extended through 2009

Source: NAR Commercial

Edge Commercial Adds Broker Heather Taylor

Edge Commercial Properties would like to welcome the newest addition to our Team, Heather Taylor. Heather joins Edge Commercial with a strong sales background along with extensive experience running her own company which was geared toward assisting small businesses in their quest to obtain financing. Heather looks forward to assisting Edge clients with all of their real estate needs.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or if there is any way we might be able to help you.

Sincerely,

Matt CallEdge Commercial Properties
303.688.3332
matt.call@edgecommercialproperties.com

2009-02-18T16:15:00.000-08:00

Positive News February 2009

We’re Number One: The Pew Research Center's new survey says, "Denver is the most desirable city in America!" Forty-three percent of those in the survey say Denver was the city they would most like to live in if they had a choice of living in the nation's top 30 cities. In the top five Denver was followed by Seattle, San Diego, Tampa and Orlando. The bottom five, all east of the Mississippi were Cleveland, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Detroit. http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-denver-top-city012909,0,4773717.story

Schwab to add 500 jobs in Douglas County: Charles Schwab Corp. will bring 500 new jobs to Colorado by 2011, Gov. Bill Ritter announced Thursday January 15th at the state Capitol. http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/01/12/daily55.html?surround=etf

Existing-Home Sales Show Strong Gain In December: Existing-home sales rose unexpectedly while inventory declined, led by a surge of sales in the West, according to the National Association of Realtors® report released January 26th. http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/01/ehs_shows_strong_gain?LID=RONav0021

CSU, CU economists - Colorado’s recovery could start as early as summer: Colorado went through a bad economic year in 2008 and can expect more of the same this year, but there are signs that a recovery could start as soon as summer, a pair of Colorado’s top university business economists agreed Wednesday.
http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/01/19/daily20.html?surround=etf

Creative Foam moving into Longmont: Creative Foam, a designer and manufacturer of foams and plastics for the automotive, medical, and composite markets, announced in January 2009 that it is leasing 70,000 square feet in Longmont. The Michigan-based company is expanding in Colorado to service Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems. http://www.metrodenver.org/site-selection/news-deals

Fannie Mae to Loosen Refinancing Rules: Fannie Mae will loosen rules for homeowners seeking to lower their mortgage payments by refinancing. The District company, which accounts for more than 40 percent of the $12 trillion in U.S. residential mortgage debt, is seeking to break a "logjam" in refinancing and allow more homeowners to take advantage of near-record low interest rates, according to Brian Faith, a spokesman for Fannie Mae, which like its rival, Freddie Mac, is under government control. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/05/AR2009020503157.html

MATT CALL
Brokerage Services
303.339.2550
Matt.call@edgecommercialproperties.com
www.edgecommercialproperties.comm

February 2008

2009-02-02T18:55:00.000-08:00

Denver Faring Better than Most Metro Commercial Markets

See the Business Section cover story from the Denver Post article Sunday February 1, 2009 ....at Edge Commercial Properties we maintain a positive attitude and outlook while also observing real data from the market place to reach conclusions about where the market is headed. Although there are some negative points to the Post article the theme is encouraging, Denver and Colorado generally are faring better than the rest of the country. Our vacancy rates for commercial space and delinquency rates on commercial notes are lower than the most of the country. For our clients in the Castle Rock market we have included a few recent stats from the CR commercial sub-market. In our office we have experienced more activity in January than we did all of 4th Quarter '08… 2009 may not be a banner year but we are encouraged by some early signs to start.

As of December 16, 2008 Avg
Castle Rock Vacancy Rates
INDUSTRIAL 7.4%
OFFICE 9.2%
RETAIL 4.9%

Avg Castle Rock Lease Rates
INDUSTRIAL $9.63 NNN
OFFICE $23.91 FSG
RETAIL $21.44 NNN

http://www.denverpost.com/businessheadlines/ci_11595663 http://www.denverpost.com/businessheadlines/ci_11595663

4th Quarter 2008 Commercial Real Estate Commentary

2008-12-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

With all the economic uncertainty in the air and the media on a non-stop quest to feed the recession monster we thought it appropriate to provide our own commentary on the current commercial real estate market.
Yesterday the Rocky Mountain News released an article discussing the decline in across the board Colorado commercial real estate transactions in 2008 and the forecast for 2009 (see below). It is certainly clear that we are in the midst of a correction, there were flaws in the residential capital markets and people would argue some of those same flaws were evident in the way commercial money was loaned. We have, within our firm, experienced a flattening of commercial activity (vacant land, vacant buildings specifically) over the past 6 months. We are seeing relatively brisk lease activity, deals are taking longer to close as many tenants and investors are surveying the market a bit longer to see what’s around the corner. As lending markets have tightened we have seen a rise in companies either downsizing or looking to lease when they may have previously considered buying. We have also experienced solid activity in the investment market as those looking at income properties seek solid cap rates in the 7-8 range. All this to say, we are confident that Colorado and specifically the Southern Denver, Castle Rock, and Colorado Springs markets are in a stronger position than many other areas thanks in part to a couple of key fundamentals:

Jobs: Statewide the jobless rate rose to 5.3% in October – the US rate is 6.7% (Perspective: in 1933 Unemployment was 24.9%!)
The unemployment rate in Denver-Aurora has risen a mere .6% since October 2007 from 5.2%-5.8%

Income: As of late 2007 Douglas County is still the 6th wealthiest county (household income) in the nation nearly $93K annually, making it a desirable place for retailers and other types businesses to locate
2007: Average US Household income $50,233 – Average Colorado Household income $55,212

We attended the Annual Southeast Business Partnership Luncheon today and thought it would be helpful to highlight a few points from the keynote speaker Daniel Ritchie: http://sebp.org/

· The Colorado Aeronautics and the Defense industries will continue to experience solid growth in 2009, with the presence and expansion of companies like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and CH2MHILL
· Colorado and Douglas County housing will remain flat in 2009 with some gains possibly at the end of the year
· Technology companies are seeing an increase in sales as businesses seek to operate more efficiently and increase performance through enhanced IT solutions….this trend will continue in 2009

See the article below that was in the Rocky Mountain News yesterday.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/04/drop-forecast-for-denver-commercial-property/

Please feel free to call me at any time to discuss.

Sincerely,

Matt Call
matt.call@edgecommercialproperties.com

Commercial Real Estate Opportunities Abound

2008-10-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

If you're a commercial investor now is the time to be in the game. During tougher economic times we so often see companies and investors pull out of the market too late and reengage too late. If you want to reap the financial rewards of times like these (too often people take the shoebox under the bed approach) you have to be on the lookout for deals. There are Commercial Investment deals to be had, whether you are an Investor seeking an income producing asset or a small business owner searching to buy an office condo. My firm (Edge Commercial) has several properties available that meet these requirements and we have access to many, many more that are great buying opportunities.

The upcoming election is sure to be a hurdle that once through will be a help to the nation in moving out of the current downturn, regardless of who is elected the clarity of knowing will bring a measure of certainty to economic conditions. Things will turn around and those that seize the opportunity when many others are on the sidelines will reap the rewards of their hard work.

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

2008-10-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

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