Commercial Real Estate to Remain Steady in 2011, according to Colorado State’s Everitt Real Estate Center

Northern Colorado commercial real estate markets are expected to remain steady, with improvement in select property areas, according to northern Colorado experts surveyed by the Everitt Real Estate Center at Colorado State University’s College of Business.

The results of the Northern Colorado Commercial Real Estate 2011 survey were released today at the Everitt Real Estate Center’s 14th Annual Northern Colorado Real Estate Conference, “Reality Check 2011,” in Fort Collins.

“The good news is that the mind of the market indicates a ‘bottom’ for the commercial real estate market in Northern Colorado,” said Steve Laposa, director of the Everitt Real Estate Center. “The good news is that there are bright spots in leasing and sales transactions and value growth possibilities for multifamily, student housing and senior housing. The bad news is the last year was hard.”

There was clear optimism in respondents’ outlook while acknowledging global, national and regional economic and financial challenges.

Other key findings include:
• Private equity sources once again are expected to dominate in the region in 2011, with financing for land and construction loans extremely challenging.
• The I-25 and Highway 34 interchange offers the best opportunities for development over the next five years.
• “Negative impact” is the overwhelming choice for the City of Fort Collins 100-year flood plain proposal.

“’About the same, but slightly better’ is the mantra for 2011, especially given the lack of sustainable economic growth in our region and lack of empirical evidence of job creation in Northern Colorado,” Laposa said.

This year’s survey was completed by more than 130 respondents.

Founded in 2000, the Everitt Real Estate Center was established to produce and disseminate knowledge and to provide applied research solutions that address current and future real estate-related needs of Northern Colorado, the Front Range of Colorado and the West. The center also aims to equip Colorado State University students, center members and the community-at-large with real estate educational programs that supplement standard academic and industry training initiatives.
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