I just returned from a meeting of the Rocky Mountain Commercial Brokers (RMCB) in Palisade, Colorado. Our group is comprised of the top independent commercial real estate brokers from the San Luis Valley, Salida, Steamboat Springs, Summit County, Vail, Aspen, Grand Junction, Montrose, Telluride, Durango and Pagosa Springs. We meet every other month to share market data, property and investor opportunities and industry best practices. The meeting is hosted by a different member in a different location, with a presentation by area experts explaining the components and drivers of the particular area.
Our meeting this last week in Palisade included a presentation by the Manager of the Chamber of Commerce and Ron West and Alex West, owners of Varaison Vineyards, a renowned Palisade winery. Thursday night we were treated to a comprehensive tour of the winery and an in-depth presentation on the art and science of wine making, wine tasting and wine paring. The Owner and his son Alex did the presentation followed by a fabulous private dinner. Though I do not drink, I still found the experience very worthwhile. I had been around many of the famous wineries in California while I was working for a construction firm during my college years. Though the Varaison Vineyards Winery in small in comparison to the more well-known wineries in Napa and Sonoma Counties, its owners have created award winning wines and developed quite a following, without the benefit of restaurant and liquor store sales. Their best wine, according to the awards it has earned is their 2007 Merlot. A trip to Varaison is well worth the drive and you can also visit any number of other wineries in the Palisade area while you are there. Link: http://varaisonvineyards.com/#
The presentation by their Chamber of Commerce Director was also interesting. Their community has a lodging tax which is used to market the area. They have been spending their limited funds successfully attracting visitors from the Salt Lake City Area (not a lot of wineries in that state!), the Front Range, and the State of Texas. They have regularly advertised in two magazines, 5280 and Texas Monthly, and they have been using an advertising agency in Denver to help them with their ad design and placement. Though Palisade peaches are well-known, the small wineries in the area are gaining popularity as the wines have become known outside of Colorado. Link: http://www.palisadecoc.com/
Area Year End Results:
During our business portion of the meeting, brokers from each of the mountain areas represented gave their year- end summary of their real estate market and the general economic outlook moving into 2012. Most areas reported improving real estate statistics with Aspen leading the field. In all areas there were a large number of end-of-year transactions driven by the change in the tax rates for 2013 and beyond. There continued to be weakness within the commercial property sectors of each community, especially the Montrose area. All communities have seen a number of new projects being planned, with the majority of the financing coming from Private Equity. The residential components are improving in all the areas with a reduction in the influence of foreclosure activity and some shortages of inventory within the lower price points.
Rocky Mountain Commercial Brokers is expanding its marketing penetration during 2013 as we will reach more of the commercial real estate brokers along the Front Range. As a network we are providing an integrated group of commercial real estate professionals with the necessary local market knowledge and expertise to match the services provided by national firms in Denver and Colorado Springs. More about RMCB: http://www.rockymtncommercial.com/
