Concerns shadow real estate’s ‘buzz’

BOULDER – The Boulder area real estate market has approached a tipping point, and a recovery or another stall could be around the corner, according to industry leaders who participated in a Boulder County Business Report CEO roundtable Tuesday.

Activity has picked up noticeably in the past 90 to 120 days, said Becky Callan Gamble, president of Dean Callan & Co.

“We’re at a point where if things continue in the right direction, the flood gates will open again,” Gamble said, likening it to the environment about 10 years ago when the recession of the early 2000s ended.

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“Right now it’s a good feeling. The buzz and things going on are very, very good,” she said.

But concerns over the national and international economy could hurt the market, especially if Congress does not resolve the dispute over the debt ceiling, she said.

An aspect of the new activity is the desire of large companies to move offices downtown or remain downtown, which is counter to the historic pattern of growing companies leaving Boulder.

“We’re starting to see a trend, that I haven’t seen before, where companies are demanding more amenities and vibrancy,´ said Andrew Freeman, president of Freeman Myre Commercial Real Estate. “Right now companies in Boulder are resisting that industrial park-type feel,” he said.

Investors are able to find great deals through buying short sales, said Stephen Tebo, founder and owner of Tebo Development Co.

Developers also can find financing for new projects, but only if they have quality tenants lined up, Tebo said.

“On a spec project, I don’t know anyone that will touch it,” Tebo said.

Editor’s note: A more in-depth report of the CEO Roundtable discussion will be published in the Boulder County Business Report’s July 22 print edition.