Archive for the ‘News’ Category

How will it affect you and commercial real estate in St. George, Utah?

There is a proposed tax increase for sales tax in Washington County, that will effectively increase the sales tax 1 penny for every $10 spent on non-food items in Washington County. In other words, for every $1,000 you spend on non-food items, you would pay $1.00 towards the RAP tax.

Impact

It would have a relatively small impact on the residents here, but would be an interesting way of taxing all of the visitors to the area. Whether they are here to see the parks, go to the Tuacahn, participate in baseball/soccer tournaments, or just here for the weather, the millions of visitors would pay a little more to better the facilities they come here to use.

As many national restaurant chains discuss new possible territories, one of the most important piece of data they look at is population. As they carefully scrutinize the number of people in the area, in St. George specifically, they also take into consideration the amount of visitors and the traffic count which particular locations may see. In Utah, 1 in 10 jobs are either directly or indirectly tied to the Travel, Tourism, and Recreation business.

Jobs

Many people choose to live here after vacationing and falling in love with Southern Utah. While visiting, they stay in hotels, eat at restaurants, play golf, subsequently providing a need for more commercial real estate. If they decide to move here and build a house due to their visit here, each home that is built creates 3 jobs either directly or indirectly through construction work, real estate, title work, providing construction materials, utility hook ups, etc… All of those things require more industrial space, office space, and retail buildings to help support the growth.

Tourism is a driver of the Southern Utah economy. This proposed tax would enable our community to capitalize more on the tourism industry in order to pay the maintenance of our beautiful county and its awesome facilities. Visit the this website to learn more about the proposed tax. And if you are in the market for commercial real estate contact us online or by phone at 4358.627.5707.

Some Key Benefits to Locating Down South

If you want to invest in St. George commercial real estate, or if you’re just curious to see why so many people do, then take a few minutes to read why Forbes ranks St. George #26 for best small places for business and careers.

There are really three main factors that helped St. George achieve this rank.

-Job growth
-Affordable property
-Cost of doing business

Job Growth

Forbes reported that St. George has been experiencing explosive job growth at a rate of 5.2 percent annually and projects that it will plateau at 4.0 percent in the near future. With the job market booming and businesses getting more clientele, now is the time to buy or lease in St. George.

Affordable Property

Just to help put things into perspective, if you were looking for a new office or building space with at least 3,000 square feet you could buy it for less than $150,000 dollars through NAI? That same amount of space in Salt Lake City would be upwards of $300,000 dollars.

“But Brandon,” you might say, “buying property is risky. It takes so much time and effort and energy. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“Well,” I would respond, “that’s why I’m here. I will take care of you. I will guide you through the entire process to help you feel comfortable with your business decisions.”

C.O.D.B

The most important factor in starting a business is knowing the break-even cost – how much you have to make to cover all of your expenses. St. George is listed by Forbes as the fifth best in the cost of doing business.

This knowledge can empower you to feel comfortable in buying in St. George because you know you are getting some of the best deals on property in the nation.

As one of the largest commercial real estate brokerages in Southern Utah, my goal is to help you get into the building that is right for you.

Call me today to see some of our featured properties.

Should I do it?

A 1031 exchange, also known as a tax deferred exchange, is the process of deferring the taxes on the sale of a property to a later date. Although you are selling your property and buying another one, it is thought of by the IRS an exchanging a property. A 1031 exchange allows you to defer paying taxes on any gain that you would receive from selling the property.

Example

A simple and common 1031 exchange would be a farmer who purchased a property for $100,000 and farmed it for 40 years. Over those 40 years, there has been quite a bit of residential development going on all around him, and his property would be well suited as a residential development and his land is now worth $1 million dollars. If the farmer simply sold his property, he would have to pay taxes on the sale amount, minus the basis (original sales price), and minus any closing costs. Below is an example using basic numbers:

$1,000,000 (sales price)
– $100,000 (basis, or original purchase price)
– $75,000 (closing costs)
————
$825,000 total gains that are taxable
-165,400 (capital gains tax)
————
$660,000

Add that to your original $100,000 invested and you would net $760,000

If you were to invest the $760,000 into a property that gave a 8% return, your annual return would be $60,800.

However, if you were to do a 1031 exchange with that same sales scenario, you would be able to invest $925,000. If you invested in a property that yielded an 8% annual return, your total annual return would be $74,000
which is $13,200 more per year (18 % more).

Get Help

If you are considering selling a property and are interested learning about 1031 exchanges, give Brandon Vandermyde with NAI Utah South a call at 435-627-5707 or email him at brandonv@naiutahsouth.com.

Ft. Pierce Industrial Park will have an old…new business returning to it.

Viracon, a glass fabricator, closed it’s doors in 2013, with the hopes of opening its doors again within two years.

Opening Early Next Year

Officials announced that they plan to open in early 2015, and will be providing 300 jobs to the area over the next 10 years. . This is great news especially after the news that Blue Bunny Ice Cream was going to be closing their St. George facility in the Ft. Pierce Industrial Park due to the lack of ice cream sales.

Viracon will invest over 2 million to their current facility. Because of their commitment, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board said that they would allow nearly $1.5 million in post-performance Economic Development Increment Finance incentive.

Governor’s Office of Economic Development

There are several requirements that a company needs to meet in order to qualify for the tax credit. According to the GOED website, here are the requirements:

-Obtain commitment from local government to provide local incentives and establish an Economic Development Zone
-Enter into an incentive agreement with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development which specifies performance milestones.
-Create new high-paying jobs in the state
-At least 50 jobs in urban counties
-At least 125% of urban county average wage or 100% of rural county wage
-Generate new tax revenues.
-Significant capital investment
-Significant purchases from Utah vendors or suppliers

Viracon’s reopening will greatly improve the local economy by increasing jobs, reducing the vacancy rate amongst the industrial sector of commercial real estate in St. George, provide better wages for employees, and provide over $7million in sales tax, payroll tax, corporate taxes.

If you have any commercial real estate questions, contact Brandon Vandermyde at 435-627-5707 or by email att brandonv@naiutahsouth.com

PRESS RELEASE: Brandon Vandermyde of NAI Utah South represented the Seller of 1.22 Acres adjacent to the post office in La Verkin, Utah. The sale of this property marks one of the first land sales in La Verkin since 2006. The new owners of the land have plans to open an American Style restaurant as soon as possible.

Stage Coach Grill will offer traditional American food, served the way it should; with fresh vegetables, local meat, homemade french-fries, and tailored to make it affordable for the family. The new owner, George, said that he is creating the restaurant to serve the local people in the area, and when tourists stop in on the way to Zion, they will be a welcomed addition.

George has over 40 years in the restaurant business in both Greece and in the United States. He is excited to get started on the restaurant, and wants people to contact him with any questions they may have. He can be reached at 435-635-7400.

If you’re looking to invest in St. George commercial real estate, now is the time. Call me to get a listing of our properties (435) 319 – 8131.