![]() Costs for loans to finance construction projects saw a significant increase in the spring and early summer of this year, according to a new survey. And those costs apply to everything from land acquisition and development, to both speculative and single-family construction. The document, Survey on Acquisition, Development & Construction, published by the National Association of Homebuilders, shows an increase in land acquisition loans over the first three months of this year from 6.3% to 8.1%, while loan costs for land development saw the biggest increases, moving from 7.8% to 9.5%. The increase was just as significant in the area of speculative single-family construction projects, jumping from 7.3% to 8.4%. Pre-sold single-family construction loans, meanwhile, were up by more than half a percentage point, from 7.9% to 8.6%. “The second quarter of 2022 was the second consecutive quarter during which both the NAHB and Fed indices were negative,” notes the survey, “indicating tightening credit conditions.” Loan costs for all project phases have been generally moving upward since the spring of 2020. Despite the most recent increases, however, interest rates in the four development categories are still below where they were in 2018 and early 2019, when they generally ranged between 9% and 10%. An indication of the daunting role that Covid-19 earlier played in the construction business, the survey notes that in the second quarter of 2020 some 57% of respondents to a NAHB survey agreed with the statement “lenders are pulling back because of coronavirus.” In the most recent survey that number had rather swiftly fallen to 3%. By Garry Boulard
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![]() A modern brick office complex on the northeast side of Albuquerque is on the market for $3.6 million. Located at 10501 Montgomery Boulevard NE, the handsome three-story structure was built in 1975 and has for years been the home to any number of private business and public agencies, including the National Indian Council on Aging. In recent decades it has housed the offices of the American Automobile Association’s Albuquerque east branch. Listed as a Class B building, the structure, in a part of the city mostly populated with homes and apartment complexes, measures around 31,200 square feet, with a portion of the rear building made up of glass walls. The property, on a 2.3-acre site, also offers parking spaces for nearly 140 vehicles, and is listed for sale through the Automobile Club of Southern California. By Garry Boulard ![]() A unique building and space that that has been home to a gallery and art brokerage service in Santa Fe is on the market for exactly $2.2 million. The property at 729 Canyon Road, to the direct east of downtown Santa Fe, sits on less than a one-acre site, handsomely landscaped with gardens. For the last several years, the site has been home to the On Canyon Road—The Consignment Gallery, offering a wide range of art, fine furnishing, and accessories. That gallery, in a 3,100 square foot building, recently ceased operations, opening the larger site to a variety of commercial and retail possibilities. The site, which also includes a 1,200 square foot warehouse, also features parking spaces for up to 36 vehicles. Listed by the Santa Fe offices of Sotheby’s International Realty, the more than century-old main building on the site was renovated in 2018. Formerly the home to the Chalk Farm Gallery, the property in the 1970s featured a Mexican and Indian gifts import business called La Pintora. By Garry Boulard ![]() While logging a marginal decrease from June to July, construction input prices have seen a 17.3% jump from where they stood last summer. According to a new report issued by the Associated Builders and Contractors, prices in nearly all materials categories have been consistently on the upside for the last 12 months. By far the largest increase has been with the price of natural gas, up by 61.1% since last summer and a record 275% since the month before the Covid 19 outbreak. Other big jumps are seen in the 33.4% increase in crude petroleum and 21.3% increase in fabricated structural metal products. Small single digit increases year over year were recorded in the price of nonferrous wire and cable, with a 7.6% jump; steel mill products, up by 6.4%; and iron and steel products, up by 2.8%. While the July-to-July figures are daunting, a more promising picture is seen in the price trend line from June to July of this year. Of eleven subcategories, prices had declined in eight. That trend line, said Anirban Basu, chief economist with the ABC, suggests that the challenge of inflation may be lessening. “A weakening global economy and ongoing supply chain adjustments have resulted in significant declines in the prices of a number of key commodities,” said Basu in a statement. Continued Basu: “Recent government reports on consumer and producer prices make it more than likely that the Federal Reserve will be able to engineer a soft landing or that any recession to come could be quite mild.” For contractors, added Basu, “This is a welcome development.” By Garry Boulard ![]() Plans are now in the works for the construction of a multi-million tied arch bridge, which will span the Rio Grande River in the city of Alamosa, Colorado. Some $4.7 million in funding for the project is coming via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and more specifically a grant program called Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity. The Alamosa project is one of three walking infrastructure projects to secure RAISE grant support in Colorado, with a total of $45.8 million in funding. The pedestrian bridge in Alamosa will measure some 320 feet in length, with a 14-foot width. As planned, the project will also see the construction of ramps and surfacing that are Americans with Disabilities Act compliant. The funding will additionally target right-of-way acquisitions, design and permitting costs, and the building of an adjacent parking lot. The new bridge will connect a levee trail on the east side of the Rio Grande in Alamosa with the campus of Adams State University on the west side. It is thought that construction will begin sometime next year, with a rough completion date of early 2024. Tied arch bridges are different from conventional bridges due to their arch design and a cable and tension rod system connecting the bridge to the arch. Such structures, because experts say they are more durable, are proving increasingly popular across the country, with a 1,900 foot long bridge recently completed near Minneapolis, and another one, at 245 feet in length, expected to be finished in Detroit this fall. By Garry Boulard ![]() A long-established and successful growers’ market group in Albuquerque may be on the verge of buying a site at 1001 Central Avenue NW that has gone unused for nearly two decades. The Downtown Growers’ Market, which regular hosts outdoor produce booths at the nearby Robinson Park, located at 810 Copper Avenue NW, has expressed an interest in purchasing the Central Avenue site, roughly one block to the west. That half-acre site, comprising nearly a full city block, was the former home of the Café Oaxaca, a one-story restaurant that went out of business in the summer of 2004. In making a bid for the property, the Downtown Growers’ Market is working with the non-profit Three Sisters Kitchen, located at 109 Gold Avenue SW and housing kitchen, classroom, and café space. If the purchase becomes reality, the Central Avenue site, according to reports, may be turned into a new food vendors market, with a production kitchen. The building that once housed the Café Oaxaca will most likely be demolished. The Downtown Grocers’ Market is one of the most enduring outdoor market venues in the state for fresh produce, regularly featuring up to 200 individual vendors. By Garry Boulard ![]() A Fort Worth, Texas-based convenience store chain has just opened one new store in New Mexico and three more in Texas, as part of an overall national growth strategy. Yesway was founded in 2015 and currently has more than 400 stores primarily in the center of the country in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. The latest stores are opening under the company’s Allsup brand in Carlsbad, New Mexico, as well as Claude, Colorado City, and San Angelo, Texas. Allsup, which was launched in Roswell, New Mexico in 1956, was acquired by Yesway in the fall of 2019. On average each of the Allsup outlets feature just over 5,600 square feet of merchandising space, and two dozen fuel pumps. This year alone, the Yesway/Allsup chain has opened some thirty new locations. In a statement, Tom Trkla, chief executive officer of Yesway, said, “We’ve been renovating, rebuilding, and constructing our Allsup’s and Yesway stores at a furious pace this year.” The company earlier announced plans for new stores in Alamogordo and Artesia. Although the Yesway/Allsup store footprint is rapidly growing, it remains behind industry giant 7-Eleven with more than 13,000 stores nationally. According to the publication CSPDaily, the average Yesway store measures around 1,700 square feet; while Allsup stores generally range between 1,000 and 2,500 square feet, although recent outlets have been more than twice that size. Earlier this summer, Yesway announced that it had secured to date more than $642 million in capital to build and remodel its properties. By Garry Boulard ![]() One of the classic buildings of downtown Greeley, Colorado is now on the market with an asking price of $5.4 million. The Greeley Building is located at 710 11th Avenue, on the same block as the Union Colony Civic Center, and was built in 1885. An addition to the structure was completed in 1903. The rectangular-shaped building features overhanging eaves, dentil molding, and stone arches. Five rows of windows on the south elevation side of the structure have the words “Liberty, Literature, Science, Art, and Justice” carved into the sandstone above the glass panels. Sitting on a 1.1-acre site, the three-story red sandstone structure measures just over 50,200 square feet, and originally served as a high school, decades before being turned into office space, with a current just over 30 tenants. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the structure, designed in the Romanesque Revival style by architect Harlan Thomas, underwent a major renovation in 1985. The property is being handled by the Greeley-based real estate company Unique Legacy Asset. The building, like the city and county of Greeley, is named in honor of Horace Greeley, the anti-slavery publisher of the New York Tribune who popularized the phrase “Go West, young man.” By Garry Boulard Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Funding to Target Historic Tucson Neighborhood8/10/2022 ![]() A neighborhood near downtown Tucson may soon see brownfields remediation work thanks to just-released funding coming out of Washington. The neighborhood is in the vicinity of the intersection of Oracle Road and Miracle Mile, within the borders of the 85705 zip code. Because of that zip code designation, local officials and community activists have launched a program called Thrive in the 05, designed to promote investment and the redevelopment of one of the oldest parts of the city, which first saw multi-racial and multi-ethnic housing more than a year ago. Roughly a 2.3-square mile section of the city, the Thrive in the 05 Area is bounded by the famous Miracle Mile to the North, Speedway Boulevard to the south, Stone Avenue to the east, and Interstate 10 to the west. An area with roughly 12,000 residents, the Thrive in the 05 Area also includes some of the oldest homes and retail properties in the metro area. The 05 Area went into decline beginning in the early 1960s after the construction of the I-10. But in recent decades a revival has taken place, with some of the neon-lit motor courts and other retail spaces in the area renovated and upgraded. Now the City of Tucson has received a $1 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency designed to remediate brownfields sites. The EPA award is the largest ever received by Tucson for specific brownfields work. City officials say that most likely the largest portion of the funding, officially coming through a Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund, will be used to clean up abandoned industrial sites in the Thrive in the 05 Area. The revolving loan fund is particularly designed to clean up sites contaminated by hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum. The funds must be used within 5 years of being awarded. By Garry Boulard ![]() The most expensively listed homes in the nation’s most upscale neighborhoods may take a hit in the months to come as the nation’s housing boom levels off. That is the conclusion of a new study conducted by the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute. Spiked mortgage rates, jumping from 3.1% to 5.3% this spring, are contributing to an overall slowdown in housing sales activity. At the same time, according to the AEI’s Housing Center, high tier properties saw a drop of a 17.7% year over year price appreciation this February to 13% in June. The price appreciation for low tier properties, on the other hand, had not risen as much, meaning that the decline was less severe, from 14.2% in February to 12.8% in June. Altogether, 21 of the nation’s top 50 metro areas revealed home price decreases in June, a dramatic drop from 2021 when those prices were up by some 40% over pre-pandemic levels. A “major, sudden slowdown is underway,” notes Fortune magazine in looking at recent pricing trends. Because high tier properties in Florida, Texas, and Arizona, among other states, saw the greatest increases during the immediately months after the Covid 19 outbreak and well into 2021, those places may be on track to see the biggest price decreases. Overall, luxury home sales were down by nearly 18% earlier this summer. Despite that decline, notes the site Realtor.com, luxury home prices have not yet appreciably declined. The reason? Upscale home sellers have “yet to adjust to this new reality—the one where they can’t slap whatever price they’d like on their properties, sit back, and wait for the bidding wars to commence.” But many analysts remain convinced that either the rate of price growth will at last slow down by the end of this year, or that the actual price of upper-end properties will finally decline. By Garry Boulard |
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