November 8, 2009

Hoff & Leigh’s Weekend Market Report
Hoff & Leigh, Inc.
Leasing, Sales, Management, Buyer or Tenant Representation
4445 Northpark Drive, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, CO USA 80907
November 8, 2009

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’s 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.

You are receiving this information because, at some point, you asked or a friend referred your name to be included in our e-mail Insider’s List. If you no longer wish to receive this information, send an e-mail reply to me (tim@hoffleigh.com) and ask to be removed. Alternatively, if you know someone who could benefit from the receipt of this information, forward this e-mail to them, and suggest they contact us, so we can consider adding them to our exclusive list.

All Market Average Office Building Sale Price PSF = $109.22 (NO CHANGE from $109.22 last week.)
We are currently tracking 147 office buildings for sale.
This is 1,526,152 square feet, which represents a total market value of $166,686,033.

All Market Average Industrial Building Sale Price PSF = $82.05 (UP from $81.92 last week.)
We are currently tracking 143 industrial buildings for sale.
This is 1,765,687 square feet, which represents a total market value of $144,878,756.

To View Tim Leigh’s ad, please click below!
http://hoffleigh.com/Doc/Tim%20Leigh.pdf

To view our most recent Colorado Springs Business Journal Ad please click below
http://hoffleigh.com/Doc/11-6-09.pdf


Tim’s Column

This last week was an awesome week for my diet. First, The Crown Plaza for scrambled eggs with cheese, no ketchup please; small, diced, fried potatoes & beacon so thin you could see through it; then lunch and more banquet food; then dinner and more banquet food; and finally the next morning, breakfast at the Antler’s; a repeat; scrambled eggs with cheese, no ketchup please; small, diced, fried potatoes & beacon so thin you could see through it; I’m convinced that if you played your cards right, you’d never have to buy groceries!

But, really, how are things? I’m concerned.

I’m concerned about the county’s foreclosure rate and its impact on everything & everybody. Tom Mowle says he’s filed 4,603 foreclosures so far this year; he expects to finish with about 5,200. Contextually, he filed 4,602 last year and 3,476 in 1988 which was the last “really bad” year. I’m concerned when I hear that the best place to get a new job is in the Bankruptcy attorney’s office. John Tuner, a local attorney says, “Business is booming!” Nice; real nice.

I’m concerned when I hear from a Wells Fargo economist that the 650,000 jobs Obama takes credit for cost us $234,000 per job. (Psst . . here’s an idea; why not just give out $100,000 bills to people looking for work? On that basis, they could have created nearly 1,500,000 jobs!) I worry about the other renown part of the stimulus program; cash-for-clunkers. The story is that each car cost us (that would be the taxpayer’s, Bob) $24,000 per car.

I’m concerned that the Preble’s Meadow Jumping Mouse may be endangered. (Actually, Bob Hoff told me not to be too concerned about this because the government’s got the ball. He said Washington’s prepared to spend nearly ½ a Billion dollars protecting the furry, little guy. At ½ Billion, that’s a cost of about $8,500 per known mouse. OK; here’s another idea; everyone who wants to buy a house but has a cash-flow problem, (remember, this is a real-estate-advice column), go to ZeeZo’s Costume’s (located downtown on Tejon Street); rent a mouse costume; apply to your father in Washington for relief as a mouse and use the award toward your next purchase. Hmm. . .

I get concerned when I hear that in 25 years (I think I’ll be alive to see this!), Medicare, if left on its present course, will consume 100% of the national income. Digest that and gulp. I get concerned when I see a national debt over $12 Trillion. I get concerned when I see we carry a national, annual deficit over $1.42 Trillion dollars, which by the way, is triple last year’s record. I get concerned about government gone bad and out of control.

And while I’m concerned, I’m not worried, because I’ve been assured by our Father in Washington that the recession is over (this in spite of 10.2% unemployment) and that the good times are on their way!

Really; how are things? Locally, I’m concerned because the market for commercial buildings continues to slide side-ways and the average lease rate is “What can you get?” I get concerned about the Tenant pool, when I see Landlord’s fighting in the shallow-end for warm bodies that will “swim-up, sign-up, pay-up and shut-up.” Forget about long-term commitments. These deals remind me of college Frat brothers; lot’s of talk and flash and no commitment. Ladies, hide your daughters!

I get concerned when Tenants call me asking how to negotiate rent-rate-reductions. They’ve heard others are “getting-a-deal” and they don’t want to be left behind. I ask, “If market conditions were the opposite (increasing rents) would you volunteer to pay more?” (That’s actually pretty funny). And I’m pretty certain we live in a unique moment in time where lease contracts don’t seem necessary because they’re not honored anyway. I think that era started with massive bank-bail-outs and the cultural shift engendered thereby. Rephrased, the question’s normally something like, “If the government can give money to the banks and bail-outs to others, where’s my share?”

I get concerned when a friend tells me he is planning to lay-off another 68 guys before Thanksgiving. I get concerned when I find out that another guy lost a manufacturing contract because his customer “shut-er-down” and is now manufacturing overseas. I get concerned when I hear from my buddies at the Local 58 that there is a line of guys waiting for work with no love in sight. I hate to imagine what it’s like to wake up every morning knowing from that sinking feeling deep in the pit of the stomach that there’s no job today and the outlook’s not great, either. I can only imagine a feeling of panic & heaviness especially with the advent of the holidays.

I get concerned when I hear, that compared to the 1980’s recession, it’s worse now to because the average American family has triple-the-debt and ½ of the savings; that the average guy is unemployed nearly 3 months longer and he doesn’t have health insurance so he’s only 1 medical-emergency away from losing the flat panel or car or house; facing foreclosure or bankruptcy.

I get concerned when I preview & value obsolescent commercial real estate and the hapless building owner isn’t even remotely aware that there’s a bus careening off the track and that it’s about to run-him-over. I saw another such building on Academy Boulevard last week. After our meeting with the owner, I told Steve, “I’m sorry for him. He doesn’t have a clue that he’s real estate’s “dead-man-walking.” His equity was his retirement. Florida sounded nice once. Now, he’ll be lucky to get-away from the debt. Oh, and lest we forget the 8 little gals who were working-away at their work? Mostly in their mid-twenties, I suppose; none knowing they are about to become statistics. Where will they find a new job?

I get concerned about a lot of things; most that I’m not able to control and some that I can. But I have a feeling that unless we figure out how to pull on the oars together. . . well, you get the idea.

And yes, because I’m concerned and want to do something about it, (just in case you haven’t heard), Lon Matejczyk let the cat out-of-the-bag in his most recent column and it’s true; I’m officially the candidate for Mayor in the 2011 city election. So far, I’m an “Army of One.” I’m running for Mayor with no official competition, endorsement or love! It’s actually kind of cool, though. I mean; by being the only candidate, I can honestly tell people that I’m the front-runner. So far, so good!

Lon says my (reported, but not true) “big, fat, flappy mouth” may have something to do with solitary nature of my journey thus far; or that most folks are waiting to see if somebody (anybody) else shows up. And of course, nobody likes to bet on a dark horse. And we’re pretty early in the game. (The election’s not for another 510 days – that’s 734,000 seconds!) But, my life’s always involved planning & execution; and as the consummate planner, I know that without laying the right foundation, the election’ll sneak-up on me.

And, I’d like to put everyone on notice – I’m a serious candidate and I plan to win.

So, what’s my deal? Fair question; it’s that I’m concerned about (and you should be too) the lack of respect, vision and leadership that’s been foaming-out from the city council and Mayor’s office, and the resulting inefficient city management and seemingly, never-ending-crisis’ facing our city. I know we can do better and I’m willing to do my part to help make Colorado Springs a world class place to live, work, play and raise kids.

By the way, I understand the commitment; the low pay and the obligation. But, I also understand and believe that at some point, it’s incumbent upon all of us to work to make our place a better place; and if we’re not willing to do that, we should find another place. It’s that simple; really.

I’ve said and believe the Mayor should be the city’s #1 Advocate & Encourager speaking to community organizations, explaining why we are where we are, what we’re doing to move forward and then lead in that direction. I mean; this ain’t rocket science. The problem is; we’ve been collectively used to such a low threshold that my ideas sound radical.

The Mayor should travel with the various community organizations who are promoting our city’s value proposition because our number 1, 2 and 3 issues are the same; “We have a critical need to create employment opportunities in Colorado Springs” and that’s done one way; by coordinating efforts & working together.

It’s time we set aside our cultural & political differences which are best left to argue at the state or federal level and focus on keeping-the-main-thing the-main-thing; that’s building a sound and sustainable financial model for private enterprise and for city operations.

Here’s my vision; it’s that that Colorado Springs becomes known as a safe, fun & clean place to live, with abundant job opportunities and a financially responsible government; and in the process, becomes known as a place that welcomes a burgeoning, creative class; that our city nurtures existing & welcomes new ventures and businesses; and in that process, creates a vibrant economy and an interesting, well-educated, multi-cultural citizenry. My vision includes changing the way we do business in Colorado Springs; changing our culture to “Yes! We can!”

And so Lon doesn’t think I’m going to drift into some bland retread from the past, let me assure him (and you) that that’s just not the case. Yes; I’m “pro-business”; I’m for “transparent government & budgeting processes”; I’m for “public safety” and I’m for “quality of life”. That I’m for those ideas does not brandish me as a retread, it brands me as someone who cares about our city. What I bring to the table, Lon, are fresh perspectives and the willingness to use my “big, fat, flappy mouth” to speak-the-truth and say-the-things others only whisper in polite company.

If you’d like to know more about my candidacy, please feel free to email me at Tim@HoffLeigh.com or give me a buzz at 719-630-2277.

Imagine The Possibilities!

Sincerely,

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