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Page 8 — Multifamily Properties Quarterly — November 2016
Civil site services are often written off as a simple,
commodity based component of a construction
project. In contrast, these services literally serve
as the foundation to your project and deserve
extensive attention. Fiore combines 5 decades of
experience with well-coordinated, high quality,
efficient, timely, and environmentally conscious
civil services to ensure that your project is built on
a rock solid base.
Our INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS, STRATEGIC PROBLEM
SOLVING, and WIDE SCOPE OF SERVICES can be de-
livered fully managed, as a combined package or
stand alone to meet the needs of the client and
always come with our partnership commitment to
deliver more than what you paid for.
Don’t build your next project on the cheapest
dirt and infrastructure you can buy - your entire
project literally depends on it!
Single services to full site
work packages
Site Management - Demolition
Earthwork - Site Utilities
Environmental - Land Development
Commercial - Landfill - Recycling
Complete Civil
Contracting Services
730 W. 62nd Avenue Denver CO 80216
Phone: 303.429.8893 / Fax: 303.429.3035
Together We Can Move Mountains
“SAFELY BUILDING A BETTER WORLD”
M ultifamily investment in
Colorado Springs will con-
tinue to lure new invest-
ment and acquisition from
large market investors.
Denver apartment investors, in par-
ticular, see Colorado Springs apart-
ments as a “safe haven” from the risk
in their potentially overbuilt market.
Colorado Springs has been expe-
riencing strong job growth across
various sectors and will continue to
have strong population growth, both
of which bode well for multifamily
investment.
Apartments will respond with his-
torically high occupancy and rent
growth. At present, Colorado Springs
apartment rent growth is accelerat-
ing, currently about 9 percent. Vacan-
cy rates have fallen below 4 percent.
Conversely, apartment vacancy is
increasing in Denver and Fort Collins,
Loveland and Greeley. Rent growth
has slowed in those markets. Still,
Colorado Springs rents remain con-
siderably below Denver, which is part
of the reason forecasts are positive.
Additionally, average rent compared
to median income still is reasonable
in Colorado Springs compared to
Denver. This has, in fact, lured many
people to reside particularly in north-
ern Colorado Springs while working
in Denver, where salaries are signifi-
cantly higher. Colorado Springs rents
by comparison are still affordable and
have room to move higher, which is
much of the reason that multifamily
construction is robust and forecasted
to continue on its current expansion-
ary path.
• Population and job growth. El Paso
County, which holds the vast majori-
ty of the population
for the Colorado
Springs metropoli-
tan statistical area,
has had popula-
tion growth of 1.9
percent since the
early 2000s. This is
roughly double the
population growth
rate of the U.S. as
a whole. The past
growth will be
eclipsed by future
growth – El Paso
County is one of
four counties in the
state projected to have a population
increase of at least 300,000 people
between 2010 and 2040, according to
the State Demography Office.
At the current pace of growth and
with the given age composition, El
Paso County needs approximately
5,400 new jobs to be created per year.
The region was woefully behind this
target number throughout all of the
2000s except for 2006. Throughout
the recession and during the early
years of the anemic recovery, there
were significant job losses.
However, in 2013 and 2014, the
region met that target and exceeded
it in 2015, which brought 8,004 new
jobs to the region, according to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics. The posi-
tive trend continues with 8,283 new
jobs from first-quarter 2015 to first-
quarter 2016.
The new jobs primarily are concen-
trated in relatively higher-paying sec-
tors: health and education services,
professional and technical services,
and construction. This trend should
continue. The Colo-
rado Department
of Labor projects
the highest rates
of employment
growth to be in
these sectors from
2015 to 2025.
Furthermore, the
September median
salary in Colorado
Springs for cur-
rent job postings
is now higher, at
$66,425, than the
Colorado median,
at $60,025. The
current regional
median is a whop-
ping 20 percent higher than it was in
April 2015, so the
higher regional sal-
ary is a relatively
recent phenomena.
The healthy job
growth and con-
comitant salary
increases have large
implications for
all residential real
estate, including
multifamily.
• Fort Carson. The
common percep-
tion is that the
Achilles’ heel of
Colorado Springs
is that it is susceptible to military
Tatiana Bailey,
PhD
Director, UCCS
Economic Forum,
Colorado Springs
Cary Bruteig,
MAI
Principal,
Apartment
Appraisers &
Consultants
| Apartment
Insights, Denver
Doug Carter
Managing director,
Sperry Van Ness
| Apartment
Insights, Colorado
Springs
Market Update
Bureau of Labor Statistics