Archives for March 2021

Thanks to all of the brokers, sponsors, and guests who attended the March 2021 CCIM NM Deal Making Session, and to those who shared their properties.

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Click here to the Thank Yous.

	Name	Property, City	Type	Price
1.	Austin Tidwell Daniel Kearney	121 Eubank Blvd, Albuquerque	Retail	$635,000
2.	Jim Wible, CCIM Riley McKee	1404 Enterprise Rd, Socorro	Industrial	$2,480,000
3.	DJ Brigman Dave Hill, CCIM, SIOR	200 Rio Bravo Blvd. SE, Albuquerque	Office	$1,275,000
4.	Shelly Branscom, CCIM Larry Harvey	2400 Louisiana Blvd. NE, Albuquerque	Office	$2,800,000
5.	Larry Harvey Shelly Branscom, CCIM	11930 Menaul Blvd. NE, Albuquerque	Office	$1,750,000
6.	Todd Strickland	6200 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Albuquerque	Retail	$799,000
7.	Todd Strickland Danae Fernandez	3880 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque	Retail	$1,468,125
8.	Tai Bixby, CCIM	2200 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe	Land	$1,300,000
9.	Genieve Posen Jim Hakeem	8800 Susan Ave. SE, Albuquerque	Industrial	$625,000
10.	Keith Meyer, CCIM, SIOR Jim Wible, CCIM Riley McKee	3961 Prince St. SE, Albuquerque	Industrial	$875,000

Rob Black

New Mexico’s economy is slowly recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but making sure the local economy is competitive with its neighbors’ coming out of the downturn remains an uphill battle, according to the Economic Forum of Albuquerque’s latest speaker.

“As we come out of this pandemic, we must come out of it with a laser focus on rebuilding our economy through a lens of creating communities of opportunity for our children,” said Rob Black, president and CEO of the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce, during a Wednesday morning event.

Black said the pandemic has done significant damage to New Mexico’s small business community. Total small business revenue has decreased in New Mexico by 30.9% since January 2020, and the number of open small businesses has declined by 35.6%.

“We were, and are, in a world of hurt right now,” Black said.

These effects are layered on top of the economic problems New Mexico had before the pandemic began, including a working-age population that’s expected to decline in the coming years. Black said the state is projected to lose 3% of its working-age population in the coming decade, in sharp contrast to neighboring states like Arizona, Colorado and Texas.

Black characterized the state’s recently concluded legislative session as a mixed bag from a business perspective. He said lawmakers approved a mix of new programs that will help small businesses, including House Bill 255, which allowed for liquor delivery and overhauled New Mexico’s liquor license system.

“It is going to transform how restaurants are able to build and develop and acquire a license,” Black said. “This will be an earthquake in the hospitality industry.”

But Black said even more bills that he described as unfriendly to small businesses were introduced, including some — like the paid sick leave mandate — that were passed by the legislature.

“It was frankly very, very disconcerting to the business community across the state,” he said.

As the state economy continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic, Black said New Mexico should focus on attracting and retaining working-age residents by emphasizing the state’s affordability and natural beauty. Additionally, the state should try to provide existing workers with in-demand skills through job-training programs.

Black also recommended the state invest in its infrastructure, take better advantage of its proximity to Mexico and improve its overall regulatory environment as leaders look to rebuild the economy in the wake of the pandemic.

“For this to work in New Mexico, we must think differently, we must act with urgency and we must focus on quality and work toward consensus,” he said.

Source: “NM Small Businesses In ‘A World Of Hurt,’ Speaker Says“

But the narrative about people relocating to the suburbs may have become oversold.

One in three Americans plans to move in the next 12 to 18 months or is undecided about staying in their current residence, according to the latest results from Pitney Bowes’s weekly BOXpoll.

Gen Z adults, millennials and city residents are most likely to move, according to BOXpoll. Additionally, one-third of all movers say they want to relocate to densely populated locations.

“Work-from-home policies are becoming more prevalent and more permanent for many Americans. That means where they choose to live is less dependent on who they work for than ever before,” Gregg Zegras, EVP and president of Global E-commerce at Pitney Bowes, said in prepared remarks. “This change is inspiring many individuals to move, or to think about where they want to live in a new context.”

There is little doubt that the rise of work from home during the pandemic is driving more migration. The WFH experiment of the past year has given rise to a so-called “untethered class” of workers who hold remote positions and are unencumbered by homeownership or family obligations, a report from ApartmentList suggests.

These workers are highly-educated, high-earning, and “on the precipice of settling down” at a median age of 32. They rent their homes, live alone or with a spouse who is either not working or who is working in a remote-friendly occupation, and they have no school-age children. They are also more likely to live in a state other than where they were born. ApartmentList suggests this new untethered class consists of 8.7 million workers, or 5.6% of the total American workforce.

While Pitney Bowes says many people want to relocate to less populous areas, the narrative around the move to the suburbs may be oversold, according to a report from RCLCO.

The report shows that suburban apartments outperformed urban ones in 2020. While COVID-19 impacted suburban markets, they were not as affected as their urban counterparts. But the RCLCO report notes that suburban apartments experienced approximately 2% rent growth in 2020, compared to 3.5% the year before. And while suburban markets were more broadly stable than urban ones in the US last year, there’s a great deal of differentiation across cities. Metros like Atlanta, Tampa, Dallas and Charlotte are all high-migration markets where newcomers chose both urban and suburban locations, “belying the flight to the suburbs story,” the report states.

In another sign of the suburbs’ diminishing appeal, in a recent survey by Seyfarth, the law firm asked respondents if their companies will shift their investment sights to suburban markets and relocate all or part of their workforce to other states. A vast majority, 67%, said no, while 23% replied yes. In addition, only 2% said they were moving their workforces to other states.

Source: “Americans are Still on the Move“

For the first time in years, retailers are opening more stores than they are closing, with 3,199 store opening announcements already this year.

This year, more retail stores will open than close, according to a report from Coresight Research published on CNBC. Retailers have collectively announced the openings of 3,199 but only 2,548 store closures. It is the first time in years that store openings have surpassed store closures.

This is a significant turnaround from 2020, when 8,953 stores shuttered, while only 3,298 opened, largely due to the pandemic. However, 2021 store openings are on track to surpass activity in 2019 and 2018, when 4,548 and 3,747 stores opened doors, respectively, according to research from Coresight Research.

Much of this is no doubt due to the expected surge in consumer spending as stimulus checks hit bank accounts. Also, as the COVID vaccines continue to roll out, stores are likely to see more foot traffic.

CNBC also points out that the surge is store openings could be the result of renewed expansion plans from a year ago. Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Five Below and TJ Maxx are all moving forward on expansion plans that were halted during the pandemic. Meanwhile, other retailers are experiencing organic growth. Athletic brand Fabletics has announced plans to open 24 stores across the US this year.

Another key factor are the low retail rents in most major markets. After the mass store closures last year, retail rental rates have fallen dramatically across the country and particularly in core markets like New York City, where retail rents fell as much as 25%, according to research from REBNY. Eight retail corridors have reported the lowest retail rents in a decade. Of the 17 total retail submarkets, 11 have seen a rise in the availability rate from 6% to 67% year-over-year. Landlords have also increased concessions to attract retailers and fill spaces.

Stores are also experimenting with new formats as part of these expansion plans. This includes signing short-term leases or using smaller storefronts. Burlington Coat Factory, for example, is opening 75 net new stores this year, and a third will be 25,000-square-feet, a significant decrease from the company’s standard 50,000- to 80,000-square-foot format.

Other retailers are exploring pop-up strategies. Gucci and North Face partnered last month to launch a pop-up retail shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The collaboration signed a 4,000-square-foot lease at 134 N 6th Street, a property owned by L3 Capital. The pop-up was one of five across the country, which included an immersive environment. At the time, Ariel Schuster, a broker with Newmark that worked on the transaction, said the deal signaled a recovery of the luxury retail market and role that pop-ups could play in revitalizing the sector.

Source: “Retail Store Openings Are Surpassing Store Closures“