River Cities Business Journal: Real Estate

River Cities Business Journal

BULLHEAD CITY - The economy has made the Tri-state area is a great place to relocate to right now.

Because of the slowdown in the housing boom prices for homes are at the lowest they've been in the past three years and sellers are more inclined to negotiate than ever. With nearly 10,000 homes available countywide selection is the best it has ever been.

This coupled with a construction boom in commercial properties makes the region a very attractive place to live, because as each new business opens up it requires employees.

With an unemployment rate that has hovered around 4.3 percent for years despite a population boom of nearly 20 percent in the past few years that means employers needs people to fill all the new jobs. (The current unemployment rate is 4.2 percent.)

That paints a very rosy picture for the future economy of the Tri-state area and all of Mohave County in general.

“If anybody is telling you the outlook for the area is bad they don't know what they are talking about,” John Keith, broker for Kaplan Commercial Real Estate & Development, said. “I just closed a deal in Mohave Valley that will employ about 120 people.”

Kaplan is the largest Realtor specializing in commercial properties in the Tri-state area and Keith has a good grasp of the overall economic picture in the area.

“There is a lot of growth and a lot of interest in the area,” Keith said.

The biggest problem Keith sees in terms of economic growth is supplying the new businesses with the manpower to operate. That ties directly in to the housing market.

“Housing prices need to come down and affordable housing is needed,” Keith said. “The jobs that are created by the Targets and the Lowes are low wage jobs. The only thing that is going to help this area is manufacturing jobs.

“The (property) that we just sold out there in Mohave Valley will be an industrial park. They (truckers) need to get to L.A. and back or Phoenix and back in one day in order not to violate the drive-time regulations. Mohave Valley is perfect for that.”

The business boom is exemplified by the rapid increase in occupancy at Colorado Place.

The facility on Hwy. 95 was near vacant for years and in the past year under the leadership of Richard Biegel it has reached near capacity of its 54 available suites.

“Since I've shown up here in January and worked fulltime at it we get three or four calls a day,” Biegel said.

The residential market is adjusting and prices are coming down making it a buyer's market.

Brad Hoover, chief operating officer of Hoover Quality Homes, said his company is making adjustments to the market with its golf course home sites at El Rio Country Club.

“We only have 42 home sites left of the original 161 so that's doing really well,” Hoover said. “We're going to make a terrific deal on those.”

Keith sums up the economic projection for the region in very optimistic terms.

“We have a very strong and bright future for this area,” Keith said.