July 5, 2008

Tim Leigh’s Weekend Market Report
Hoff & Leigh, Inc.
4445 Northpark Drive, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, CO 80907
July 5, 2008

Attached is our complete listing of all properties for sale in Colorado Springs, based on property type - office, industrial and condo. This is the most complete listing that we are aware of. It is our goal to provide this information, updated weekly. We develop these lists by basic research and cross-checking data points from the PPCIE, local broker's individual web sites, The Turner Book and any other public information domain we can find.

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All Market Average Office Building Sale Price PSF = $112.00 (the average price is down $.20 from last week)
There are currently 125 office buildings for sale. (5 more than last week)
This is 1,189,127 square feet, which represents a total market value of $133,183,490 (This is an increas of 29,529 square feet and an increase in total market value of $3,077,490)
If sold for a 7% average real estate commission, these sales would generate $9,322,844.30 commissions.


All Market Average Warehouse Building Sale Price PSF = $68.99 (the average price is down $.32 from last week)
There are currently 85 industrial buildings for sale. (no change in the number or units for sale from last week)
This is 1,600,983 square feet, which represents a total market value of $110,451,275. (This is an increase of 46,656 square feet and an increase in total market value of $2,700,000.)
If sold for a 7% average real estate commission, these sales would generate $7,731,589.25 in commissions.


All Market Average Office Condo Sale Price PSF = $164.75 (the average price is unchanged from last week)
There are currently 94 office condos for sale.
This is 198,757 square feet, which represents a total market value of $32,746,190.
If sold for a 7% average real estate commission, these sales would generate $2,292,233 in commissions.
I have lowered the pricing on our personally-owned and developed office condo project by nearly 10% this week to stimulate sales.


All Market Average Industrial Condo Sale Price PSF = $83.01
There are currently 31 industrial condos for sale. (No change in the number of units for sale from last week.)
This is 106,962 square feet, which represents a total market value of $8,878,523.
If sold for a 7% average real estate commission, these sales would generate $621,496 in commissions.


I don’t know if anybody is bothered by the inconsistency of our city fathers, where they spend millions of dollars on the showcase gateway to our downtown, the new Bijou Bridge, and then build the Marion House Soup Kitchen at the east end.

I’ve been bothered by the transient homeless in Colorado Springs for some time. So you don’t think I’m a cold hearted scumbag, you should know that I have significantly supported The Salvation Army’s Shelter with time & money. I’ve been blessed and feel compelled to pass those blessings along when and how I can. However, the homeless have gotten out of control. At some point, we need to figure out why we allow 500 transient homeless to trample on our rights.

I recently spent some time discussing the issue with one of our City’s finest. He told me some interesting things. Did you know there are about 500 “regulars” living on the street? These are not the single moms with children who have been pushed out of their homes. These are the guys that panhandle when you are trying to shop or bother you when exiting I-25. Did you know that there’s a pecking order in their society? In fact, there is an ongoing fight for “good space” and the less able are being pushed out of downtown to the Fillmore & Nevada area.

We manage several properties in the Fillmore & Nevada area, so I know from first-hand-experience, that the transient homeless have moved-in. They have moved-in because the weak have been forced away from the prime real estate along Monument Creek. And they have now gotten so aggressive, that they actually panhandle door-to-door to many of our tenant’s places of business. We have tried everything, from installing lights, fences, regular patrols and weekly clean-ups. Recently, Tom was found dead along the tracks behind one of our buildings. Doug told me he likely strangled and suffocated by one of his associates. Forced out of the downtown, they like the area because of its proximity to jobs & food. There are labor-ready businesses in the area, and un-wisely, the fast food franchises feed the guys leftovers.

What can be done? How about a community-wide master plan to deal with the homeless? How about moving the Marion House & the Shelter to Las Vegas Street near the Criminal Justice Center? I was told that if the appropriate facilities were constructed, the transient population would gravitate to those facilities. How about zoning rules that force all labor-ready businesses into one strip-center? Here’s a novel idea, let’s put the labor-ready’s near the soup kitchen & shelter where the guys can gravitate to find their jobs?

If you call the Police Department for help, any help, 44% of the time, there is nobody to answer your call. Therefore, on their list of priorities, chasing a homeless guy is a low priority. I was told that given enough man-power and facilities, the problem could be solved. But in the face of a $28 million budget shortfall for 2009, (you heard it here first), adding more cops and more space in CJC is not likely.

There is certain anonymity to saving a life. A mother cries for help. A small child is pulled from the pool. 2 Florence Nightingale’s descend on the rag-like, still body who looks up with rolled-back eyes. They fiddle around and the child returns from her journey to the light. No thanks were offered. None were expected. One mother to another. A child is saved. The visibly shaken mother and child retreat their room to pack a leave for home, their safe place. Meanwhile, the Nightingale sisters (mother & daughter) are visibly shaken by the experience, too, but wonder if their casual trip to the Sonnenalp is really a miracle trip to save a life.

In that context I often wonder what value we bring to the marketplace. We’re not saving lives. We’re merely keeping the wheels of commerce spinning. In that context, we need to keep our business issues in perspective. Most of us are not dying. Sure, many of us have lost some equity; some more than others. But, lost equity can come-back. Lost life can’t.

Sincerely,

TJL
Tim Leigh
719-337-9551
Tim@HoffLeigh.com


To view our Office Matrix List please click below
http://hoffleigh.com/OfficeInsider.aspx

To view our Industrial Matrix List please click below
http://hoffleigh.com/IndustrialInsider.aspx

To view our Office Condo Matrix please click below
http://hoffleigh.com/HLIOfficeCondos.aspx