Sid Squirrell, Commercial Broker and Developer, CCIM with Bray Commercial Real Estate, agreed that the market appears to be doing fine after surviving an unprecedented increase in interest rates over the last two years.

“It’s strange. Now, we’re looking at interest rates coming down,” Squirrell said. “That will make things better because it will be cheaper to borrow money. The cost of borrowing comes into play if you’re looking at budgets and whether it makes sense. We continue to get deals done, tenants continue to look, and buyers continue to buy. It’s steady for a change.”

He added that people are nervous because of the election since that will affect how the market moves forward, so people are holding back because they are waiting to see who ends up in office. Geopolitical issues, wars and conflicts overseas have also been affecting people’s willingness to buy. However, they are also optimistic because interest rates are coming down.

“The demand is starting to catch up,” Squirrell said. “Retail has surprised me. We’ve had a lot of vacancies that have filled up in a short amount of time. Industrial has also come around, but we haven’t seen any construction to speak of in the industrial market. So, it looks like we might need to start building more industrial space.”

Posner added that Grand Junction has more industrial organizations coming to Grand Junction with some larger companies starting to grow roots here and using Grand Junction as one of their distribution hubs. Manufacturing companies are also coming to the area, further strengthening the industrial market.

Significant areas of development are the 24 Road corridor, which has Costco, new car washes and other development projects happening. The F ¼ Road area is under development, and medical offices are expanding throughout Grand Junction. WinCo, a grocery store chain, also purchased a space in the Northwest area for future development.

“Grand Junction is a great place to live. The school systems are getting better, and you have the BLM and recreational living. It’s the best of all worlds here,” Posner said. “We are close to places like Salt Lake City and Denver, which helps some of those bigger distribution companies.”

One of the greatest challenges is determining how to tackle exorbitant building costs and permitting costs, timelines for getting things done and increased supply costs and other expenses developers may encounter along the way.

“Since everyone has been staying busy, we haven’t seen construction costs reset, and we won’t see it reset until we have a downturn,” Squirrell said. “We may not have a downturn, so we may never get those prices reset. It’s the new normal, and it is still expensive out there. Leasing is a reflection of what the value of the real estate is, and when we start building new, those prices are going to have to go up to justify the new construction costs.”

Squirrell and Posner agree that prospective buyers and sellers should find brokers who know the market, build relationships with them and let them navigate buyers and sellers through the process. Doing the homework, crunching the numbers, being patient and looking for the best deals to add value to are also crucial for prospective buyers and sellers.

“Grand Junction used to be a retail hub for Western Colorado, but that went away when the smaller areas got those stores,” Squirrell said. “Adding these developments will positively impact our economy. Grand Junction is continuing to grow, and we’ll continue to see people moving here and retiring here.”

“It’s a small community, so the commercial brokerages work together to help our clients be successful,” Posner added. “It’s good to have someone representing you that knows the market and can help you navigate it. Whether buying, selling, leasing or growing a business – that’s what we’re here for.”