branson commercial real estate 2013

7/29/2019 Branson Commercial Real Estate 2013

1/9

Commercial Real Estate Forecast

Again our community has suffered extreme

weather events and a continued difcult na-

tional economy. A tornado, extreme heat anda sluggish national travel market lead us to

wonder if the only thing missing is the locus.Maney segements of the commercial

real estate market have trended to near the

recovery phase after several years of oversup-ply and recession. This positive movement ofthe market was not caused primarily by in-creased growth however, but by and large by

the removal of a large amount of availableinventory.

During the last quarter of 2012 severallender owned properties were sold and putback into the market. This should also helpto stabilize much of the commercial marketgoing forward. It appears that prices have

stabilized and the market has nearly complet-

ed re-pricing. We expect foreclosures to slowand lender owned distressed slaes to lessen.

Again this year we have asked JerryJeschke of Jeschke Appraisal to provide us hisreport regarding the residential market. Inaddition to the tourism industry, increasedhouseholds help to support the ofce, retail,

and industrial uses. As we start our seventhyear and publish our seventh edition of thisreport, we have just completed a success-ful year for our company. Together we and

ourclients have again worked through thechallenges. We along with our partner, Ma-

ples Properties of Branson look forward tocontinuing to serve our existing and new cli-

ents in the New Year. We are always happy tohear your comments, or questions regardingthis report or issues in general. Call antime.

1 Another

Challenging Year

2 Retail Market

3 Ofce Market

4 Industrial Market

4-5 Residential Market

6 Hospitality Market

6 Land Sales

7 New Tax Policy

7 Commerical OneAnnounces New

Service

8-9 Opinions,Observations,Thoughts and Hearon the Street

2013 Real Estate Report

Published byCommercial One Brokers

LLC.

Inside This Issue

January 2013 Edition 7

Another Challenging YearBut Some Recovery

500 W. Main, Suiute 302-A, Branson Financial Center Branson, MO 65616

CommercialOneBrokers.com 417-334-3149

Sincerely,

Stephen N. Critcheld, CCIMBroker/Partner

Robert Huels, Jr. CCIMBroker/Partner


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CommercialOneBrokers.com

417-334-3149

Retail MarketAvailable Retail Inventory Shrinks

The retail market experienced some of the

biggest changes in years. Of course this yearof change began with the Leap Year tornado

that removed in excess of 100,000 square feetof available retail and ofce property from the

rent rolls. We expect that a portion of this spacewill be replaced, but the timing of when andwith what remains to be seen. In addition to

this weather caused reduction in space, we hadanother 300,000 +/- square foot removed due

to ownership change in use and removal fromthe rental market. Factory Merchants Mall (Red

Roof ) was removed from the market by SimonProperties and the city of Branson. At this pointwe see no plans to replace this center with a re-

tail use. During the year several other properties

were sold or leased and thus converted to otheruses and they no longer t into the criteria asretail rental space.

Coupled with the reduction in available retailspace, the forced relocation of businesses

affected by the storm and the opening of severalnew start-up businesses all served to tighten

the current availability of retail space. After twoyears of at vacancy rates that hovered in the

range of 13% +/-, 2013 begins the year with anoverall rate that has decreased to 10.33%. If youare a business that is looking to locate on our

famous Country Music Boulevard, the vacancyrate is a low 8.83%. Yes, if you want to lease a

space on Hwy 76, the options are very few andfar between.

The properties enjoying the highest occupanciesand rental rates are those with professional

management, marketing programs, well mixedtenancies, and well maintained. Branson Land-

ing, Tanger Outlet and The Grand Village all

have the highest reported occupancies and our

data indicates that their tenants also enjoy thehighest sales per square foot by reporting enti-

ties. As one might assume, the tenants of theseproperties typically are able to pay the higher

rents as well. The ability to draw the right kindof trafc, in large numbers to their store make itpossible for these businesses to pay these higher

rents and it is easier for the landlord to attractthe best tenants.

We currently track 31 properties totaling ap-

proximately two and one quarter million squarefeet of available space. Of these properties,we have identied several trends. The reasons

mentioned above would appear to be obviousthat project quality and trafc equal higher

rents. The second and equallyobvious reason is that older, off highway 76

properties are at the top of our list of propertieswith higher vacancy and lower rents. Some ofthese ne properties have experienced good

occupancy in the past, but age and new trafcpatterns have had a negative effective on these

properties. We expect the future uses of theseproperties to shift toward more of service and

back ofce uses in the coming year.

CURRENT RENTAL RATES

LOCATION RENTAL RAGE

HWY 76 $18 TO $22 NNNOFF HWY 76 $ 8 TO $10 NNN

Te lower rates oered in 2011 and 2012were typically only available or a shortterm. We believe that special oers and

rental incentives will not be oered incoming months as rates frm and availableinventory continues to drop.

Do the low vacancy rates provide anopportunity or new retail construction?Tat is a question we are going to study inmore detail and will report on in the u-ture. Te ollowing are a ew o our initialthoughts as o this date.

Rental rates on the strip can probablysupport new construction today due to

the lower land acquisition costs.

Rental rates o the strip must increaseto approximately $12 to $14 PSF NNNin order to support new construction.

Depending on the amount o utureinventory, rental rates could increaseas much as 10% at the lower ranges othe market. Te higher rental rates wilprobably not increase as much. Onlythose leases that are three to fve yearsold and are currently set or renewal

will probably see some rate increases atthe higher/on the strip rates.

See uture reports or additional opinion andthoughts regarding new construction easibil-ities.

Source: Commercial One Brokers LLC Data Base

of Multi-Tenant Bldgs. of 5,000 sq. Ft. or more.

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Office MarketOccupancies Finally Move In Positvie Direction

The area ofce market has exhibited a dramat-

ic change for the better over the past twelvemonths. The net absorption for the year was

just over 34,000 square feet of total ofce space.This positive activity represents a huge drop of10 basis points in the vacancy rates from last

year at this same time. These results are basedon our tabulation and tracking of sixteen prop-

erties and nearly one quarter million square feetlocated inside the city limits of Branson.

This years star ofce performers are theBranson Financial Center in downtown Bran-

son with a stunning 96% occupancy and TheCastlerock Ofce Park located on Highway 248

with a January 1st occupancy rate of 92%! Bothof these properties reported occupancy rates

below 76% just a year ago. Other propertiesthat continue to shine with very high occupan-cies include 248 Professional Park and the 248

Ofce Complex at the Epps Rd. intersection thatare both 100% occupied.

There are two properties that are presently

the major drag to the overall occupancy rates.One of the properties suffers from functionalobsolescence and is not currently for lease, and

it is lender owned and offered for sale only.The other requires signicant inll costs and

suites are too large for most of the local ofce

users. When these two properties are eliminatedfrom the total available market, the vacancy ratewould drop to a very respectable 9%. Both the

overall vacancy rate and the effective rate are atlevels not seen for more than ve years.

A further review of our data reveals yet anotherinteresting and we believe enlightening fact.

Of all the current space offered for lease in ourdatabase, 70% of that space is currently offered

in a vacant white box condition and are not

ready for immediate occupancy. All of the total

square feet our company leased in 2012 (38,682Sq. Ft.) were ready to move in immediately orwithin a very short period due to the need for

only minor modications by the tenant. Basedon this information we believe that landlords

should consider nishing their space in a ge-neric fashion so as to accommodate the market

desires for both fast occupancy and less upfrontinll costs. At least for the past year, there is no

doubt that tenants have elected to lease nishedspace rather than white box space. Of courseboth the tornado and the smaller sized tenants

have been the major driver of the demand fornished space. Small users typically cant or

wont make the investment in tenant nish nor

do they have the time to design, permit, and

construct their space before moving in. Simplyreducing rents to attract a tenant has not proven

to be a successful option when given the choicefor a nished ofce.

Leasing rates for class A ofce space this

past year has hovered around that $10.00 perfoot NNN range We do see a potential for rate

increases in 2013. Of course landlords need tomake these decisions on a case by case basis,but we are advising a majority of our landlords

to increase rents for nished space this monthby a range of 8 to 10%. We forecast that by the

end of 2013, rates could be up as much as 15%overall. Of course the overall economy will be

the nal determinate of the total increase as welas the rates established by the remaining lenderowned properties. We are unaware at this time

of any new additions to the ofce rental market.It is our opinion that the current rent levels and

market conditions could not justify the con-struction

of a newproperty at

this time.

Another

unknown

in this

equation

will be theuncertain

demand

for further

ofce space

required by

the chang-ing medicalsegment of

the localmarket.

We do not believe that the expanding medical

market will have any major effect on this yearsmarket but we do anticipate increased demand

from this segment in future years.


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Industrial MarketA New Market Segment Added To The Data Base

We are adding a new database of a new marketsegment to our on-going market reports with

the addition of the industrial market. As the in-uence of the Taney County Business Develop-

ment Partnership grows, we expect this segmentof the market to become more active. Our initialdata base tracts sixteen multi-tenant properties

totally 397,927 square feet. The large majorityof these properties are located in two locations.

The overall largest concentration is in the Hollis-ter Industrial Park. A second area located across

the street from the Hollister schools is underdevelopment, but only few buildings have been

constructed as yet and most house predomi-

nately single users. The other area with a high

density of industrial use is in the North Hwy. 65. just North of the Reinhardt Rd. Area.

Again, many single users occupy buildings inthis area, but one larger multi-tenant project

was built several years ago and offers ofce/warehouse product.

As the area adds additional tools to its economic

development tool kit, such as the EEZ designa-

tion a clearer picture of our work force abilities

are identied along with workforce training,these types of properties will see increased

demand.

The current occupancy rate of these sixteenproperties is 74.22%. Leasing rates range froma low of $4.00 PSF gross to a high of $6.50 PSF

gross. The higher rents are for properties thatinclude some nished ofce/showroom space

in addition to warehouse. The higher rentsalso included heated warehouse. The current

average gross lease rate for all properties is$5.82 PSF

page 4

The residential markets in Stone and Taney

Counties continued to rebound in 2012. Totalsales volume including detached and attachedunits rose for the third year with the low occur-

ring in 2009. The total number of sales in 2012,according to our statistics, appears to be about

13% higher than 2011 with a similar distribution

of sales. It is interesting to note that the totalnumber of sales approached 2007 suggestingthat attitudes and perceptions about the marketare changing.

The majority of the sales in the market trans-

pired with prices below $200,000. Sales ofproperties with prices between $0 and $200,000

made up 80% of the sales in the market in 2012,down 5% over 2011.

Most of the categories have remained fairly

similar over the past 3 or 4 years except thatthe number of sales with selling prices below$50,000 has increased each year. In 2009, there

were 136, in 2010 there were 188, in 2011 therewere 258 and in 2012 there were 307. All of the

remaining categories shown in the graph below

were within a few sales of the previous year.

Clearly short sales and foreclosed sales continue

to be of interest in the market since they arepresumed to be holding prices down. Shortsales and foreclosures were spread over all

price ranges with just over 27% of all sales beingeither foreclosure or short sales. That number

is down from 2011 when foreclosures and short

sales were 33% of all sales in the market. Saleswith prices between $0 and $50,000 had thehighest percentage of foreclosed/short sales atjust fewer than 46% of the annual sales volume

in that category. That may explain the contin-ued increases in the sales of property priced

below $50,000. The number gradually declinesthrough the upper end of the market where

foreclosure and short sales comprised only 7.1%of the sales for property priced over $450,000.The only exception is the properties that sold

Residential MarketHousing Continues Slow ImprovementContributed By Jerry Jeschke J.jeschke Appriaisal


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between $300,000 and $350,000 that were 11.8% of the sales in that category. The sale data issummarized on the chart below. We would also

note that not all sales considered to be shortsales or foreclosed sales are being reported so

the numbers may be somewhat higher.

The rise in foreclosed and short sales in the $0

to $50,000 category appears to be partially due

to sales moving from the $50,000 to $100,000categories. The big question is what happenedto the foreclosed sales in the $150,000 to$200,000 category? The only explanation we

have is that segment of the market is wheremost of the reduction in foreclosed sales

occurred. The remaining categories are nearlyidentical to 2011.

Sale prices of residential property stabilized in

2012 and we are observing signs that indicatepotential increases in prices in the near future.Traditional economic theory suggests that as

demand increases and supply decreases pricesshould increase. In the Tri-Lakes Market, we are

observing an increasing number of sales eachyear (demand) and the number of listings (sup-

ply) continue to decline. Nationally economiststend to evaluate the single family housing byreporting the supply in the number of months.

Typically, the national market is considered tobe in balance when there is a 6-month supply of

housing for sale. The Tri-Lakes market has anabsorption rate that is increasing and a supply

that is decreasing. If the market was considered

to be in balance in 2007, it should be nearinga balanced market since the supply of property

for sale is currently nearly equal to 2007 (21.86months in 2007 versus 26.34 months in 2012).

Other signs that prices should be rising include

builders constructing speculative houses in themarket. In 2012, we began to observe somedevelopers and builders entering the market

and constructing new single family dwellingunits. However, the number is very small and

it is very difcult for builders to construct aproperty for less than it can be purchasedin the market. Although labor and material

prices continue to rise, land values are very lowallowing builders to assemble new property

- sometimes with a very slim prot. There iscurrently almost no new residential product in

the market and very few new houses have beenconstructed since 2008. It is probable that thereis pent up demand for new housing but the

existing supply continues to keep prices belowthe cost to construct. The lack of new housing

construction has held down demand for vacantlots. Although the supply of vacant lots is not

increasing, demand is so low that lot values con-

tinued to decline in 2012. The good news inthe vacant lot market is total sales are beginning

to show a slight rise suggesting demand may beincreasing.

In 2011, we reported there were rumors of ashadow inventory of foreclosed property thatwas anticipated to enter the market in 2012.That inventory never entered the market and

the number of listings identied as foreclosed orshort sales continues to decline. That statistic is

likely related to two observations. First, banksappear to be foreclosing fewer properties and

are being smarter about disposing that property.

Rather than looking to immediately liquidateproperty, banks are leasing vacant residentialproperty and increasing the number of lease

purchase transactions which has lowered theimpact on the market.

Condominium sales continue to struggle due tonancing issues. Fannie Mae and Freddie Machave not been offering nancing on condomini-

ums in projects with nightly rental programsfor several years which leaves buyers with less

attractive nancing options. Financing for con-dominiums tends to be 5 year adjustable rate

mortgages amortized over 30 years with 20%down and mortgages held by local or regionalbanks. We did observe one project where a

lender offered 30 year xed nancing for alimited time. However, as soon as the xed

nancing opportunities ended so did the sales.Although,

some major lenders are relaxing qualicationsfor condominiums, it is not having a signicanteffect on sales to date. We are aware of sales of

condominium units in the market that have soldfor as little as 30% of what they might have sold

for in 2006 or 2007.

Overall the improved residential market had agood year, similar to 2010, with increased de-mand and shrinking supply. Comparisons from

year to year appear to be indicating continuedincreases in sales volume. Single family residen

tial property prices appear to have found theirbottom but are not yet increasing. Decreases in

supply and increases in demand will eventually

erode the existing supply and prices will rise.Based on statistics from the past 3 years, weexpect 2013 to be another good year for the res-

idential housing markets in the Tri-Lakes Area.


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Hospitality MarketOccupancy Rate Improves With Less Inventory

It is estimated that total visitation for the 2012

will end about two percent below last yearstotals. This drop in visitation translated to a

4.6% drop in demand for Hotel/Motel rooms,according to Smith Travel Research throughNovember 2012. We believe when the nal

numbers become available the room supply willprobably reect a 8-10% drop in the number

of available rooms, due to the tornado. Mostof this inventory that was not rebuilt was the

older, exterior corridor rooms with lower rates.With less supply, the occupancy and averagedaily rates were able to improve. We estimate

that occupancy will increase from the high40s% in 2011 to over 50% in 2012. The average

daily rate will increase from the upper $70s

to over $82. Its important to understand thatthe properties reporting to Smith Travel aretypically the national ag properties and aregenerally not the commonly referred to Mom

and Pop operators. Several lender owned

properties were sold before year end. These

properties sold from $5700 to approximately$11,000 per door depending on age, location

and condition. These new owners who will andhave modernized these properties will have lessthan $15,000 to $16,000 per room total cost

into their properties they will now be compet-ing with those owners who have held on after

buying properties at the height of the market.These owners have total investments in the mid

to upper $20s per room and have not beenable to upgrade and redecorate their fteen toeighteen year old properties. The hospitality

market is also consolidating into about fourmajor ownership entities that will be able to

drive market rates. Currently we have identied

only nine properties on the market for sale.It is our opinion that there are probably onlythree of these properties that could compete inthe market. The other six are fty to sixty-year

old properties with large amounts of economic

obsolescent and will probably be purchased for

land values only. The per door asking prices ofthese properties, currently on the market, range

from $15,000 to $33,000 for an average perdoor price of $21,534. We dont believe a knowledgeable buyer will pay these kinds of prices for

these properties at this time. Some have, but theowners nanced their purchase in some way.

Like several other segments of the commercial

real estate market we believe the hospitalitymarket is about to reach a stabilized level wherethere will be several newly updated properties,

re-priced and available for visitors and are eco-nomically sustainable for the property owners.

page 6

Since the commercial land market peaked in2006-2007 land sale transactions have tumbled

to only four recorded transactions in 2012.Presently there are a great number of landowners who purchased their properties in

2006-2007 and now see values that are 40% to50% of their original purchase prices. Unlike

the other commercial market segments we haveseen very little investor interest in this segment

of the market, other than a few lender owned

REO direct sales. Couple that low interest withthe ability of users to buy an existing commer-

cial property and rehab at a total cost less thanbuilding from the ground up. Not only doesthe buyer able to obtain the property at a lesser

total cost but at far less risk and aggravation aswell.

We believe that 2013 could be the year that

patient capital discovers the vacant land

investment opportunity and will begin to buy.There are a number of land owners who are

tired of paying the holding costs for their landpurchase and will agree to unload their landat large discount. It is our opinion that these

new prices will provide a knowledgeable andpatient investor an opportunity to purchase wel

located commercial tracts that can be monetizedwithin the next ve years.

Land SalesFew Recorded Transactions


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New Tax PoliciesFederal Tax Policy

with Fiscal Cliff UpdatesPosted January 7th 2013

The federal tax code has not substantially

changed for over two decades. 2013 bringsa new set of rules and guidelines for all U.S.

taxpayers. Keep in mind that ling for 2013 isnot due until April 2014. Individuals, families,

and businesses across the board (not onlyhigher-income individuals or households) willbe to some degree impacted by federal tax rate

changes negotiated through the scal cliff deal.

Capital Gains/Carried Interest

The capital gains/carried interest rate will

increase to 20 percent for individuals with anadjusted gross income more than $400,000and married couples with AGI more than

$450,000. Individuals/couples below the$400,000/$450,000 AGI level will still pay 15

percent.

3.8 Percent Healthcare Tax

Passed under the Affordable Care Act in 2010,the 3.8 percent healthcare tax will affect some

real estate transactions. Individuals with AGImore than $200,000 and married couples with

AGI more than $250,000 may be subject to the3.8 percent healthcare tax.

Payroll Tax

In February 2012, the payroll tax cut was ex-

tended until Dec. 31, 2012. Payroll tax includesSocial Security payments that were cut to 4.2

percent instead of 6.2 percent. Without lan-guage included in the scal cliff deal, the payroll

tax reverted back to the pre-recession level, 6.2percent. It is estimated that the average workerwill pay about $1,000 more in taxes annually, or

about $42 per pay check.

Alternative Minimum Tax

Under the scal cliff deal, the AMT received a

permanent x and will adjust for ination. The

AMT will be less burdensome on lower-income

levels with more exemptions for credits or taxdeductions whereas higher-income levels will

receive less exemption opportunities.

Exemptions and Deductions

Individuals with AGI more than $250,000 andcouples with AGI more than $300,000 should

expect a phase out of the personal exemptionof $3,800 and itemized deduction write-offs.

Direction on the Pease provision was includedin the scal deal (Pease is named after

Congressman Don Pease (OH) who created anitemized deduction phase out in 1990). Theitemized deduction phase out was avoided with

the recession and Bush-era tax cuts. As clariedby the scal deal, the Pease provision will now

eliminate up to 80 percent of deductibles for

$300,000 AGI couples or $250,000 AGI individ-uals including charitable donations and mort-

gage interest.

Estate and Gift Tax

Estate or gift taxes will be

taxed at or above the$5 million (per

person) lev-

el but thetax rate will

increase from

35 percent to 40

percent in 2013.

Depreciation (bo-

nus)

Businesses may deduct up

to 50 percent of expenses(property and equipment), not

including real estate, for the 2013tax year.

Leasehold Improvements

There is a 15-year straight-line cost recovery forqualied leasehold improvements on commer-

cial properties that extend through 2013 and arretroactive for 2012.

Income Tax Rates

The greatest change will be for individuals

with AGI over $400,000 and married coupleswith AGI over $450,000; a new tax rate of

39.6 percent applies to this income level. Forincomes below, the Bush-era tax rates became

permanent. The scal cliff negotiations didnot produce changes to federal tax policies ondepreciation recapture or passive loss.

On January 3, 2013, the Internal Revenue

Service released a guide on new federal tax

rates, Updated Withholding Guidance for2013 (PDF). Review the IRS notice .


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Annouces New Tax Appeal Service


417-334-3149

Commercial One Brokers LLC. has assembled a team to conduct tax appeals for both our clients and others who feel that their valuations for property

tax purposes are wrong. You can call to discuss our service by calling our ofce. With the large reductions in many property valuation categories, aprudent owner should see if their property taxes reect the new valuations and market realities. 500 W. Main, Suiute 302-A, Branson Financial Center

Branson, MO 65616 CommercialOneBrokers.com 417-334-3149

page 8

The big fll project at Hwy 76 and 65

intersection. It is reported that this will be

the new home of CVS Pharmacy. Their startof construction was held up due to the citiesliquor license requirements for big box stores

that did not include their size of building. It isour understanding they were able to obtain a

liquor license before the city could rene theirrequirements and they will be moving forward

with their building. A new road is being extend-

ed from the intersection North through the CoxMedical Center Branson/Skaggs campus that will

connect with Business 65. We also hear thatFive Guys Burgers and Andys Frozen Yogurt

may join the project as neighbors.

You Will See The Southwest Airline Colors

Begin Flying On March 9th. Not only willthe private investment that has been made to

build and operate the Branson Airport help to

increase tourism, it will also add new job oppor-tunities and businesses to this community. TheBombardier Company recently used the Bran-

son Airport for ight testing for a new aircraft. Itis our understanding that they have scheduledmore dates. We are aware of at least two compa-

nies who have and or are looking at locatingan aircraft focused business at the airport who

would create dozens of good paying jobs.

Inland Real Estate Acquisitions Inc. Purchas-

es Branson Hills Shoppes. This was a majorpurchase and will include additional buildings

when completed that will add to the purchase.Good news .to see Branson attracting large

sophisticated landlords. Ultra Beauty hasrecently received a permit for inll nish of its

new store in the development. We believe thereis at least one more store to be permitted verysoon.

Chick-fl-A Is Finally Coming To Branson. Af-

ter years of begging, Chick-l-A has nally select-ed a site in Branson for a store. We understand

that it will be located at The Shops At BransonHills in front of Kohls and directly across thestreet from The Branson Tourism Center.

Taney County Business Partnership Group

fnally receives EEZ approval. After nearlyten years of trying, Jonas Arjes led a successful

effort to obtain the Enhanced Enterprise Zoneclassication (EEZ). As the Director of the TaneyCountry Business Development Partnership,

Jonas led the effort, to obtain this very import-ant approval through the State of Missouri.

Through this coordinated effort that included allof the municipalities and taxing entities in Taney

County, businesses who qualify by creating atleast two new jobs that pay above average wagewhile investing a minimum of $100,000 may

apply to the local EEZ board for approval. Ifaccepted, the business will receive 50% local tax

abatement for up to ten years. In addition the

employer will also be able to receive up to veyears of a 2% of payroll credit on the new jobsand .5% credit of the new private capital invest-

ment. These abatements will only take effecton NEW investment so that any existing tax baseis not cannibalized.

The program may not be used for Gaming,

Retail, Education Services, Religious Organiza-tions, Public Administration and Food/Drinking

Establishments per state Statute. Eligible invest-

ment expenditures include the original cost ofmachinery, equipment, furniture, xtures, land

and building, or eight time the annual rentalrate paid for the same. Inventory is not eligible.

The incentive becomes a major part of the localeffort to grow more good paying jobs in the

county.

Commercial One Brokers and Our Sister

Company Maples Properties of Branson

Adopt Two Cottages For The Womans Crisis

Center. Our company is proud to announce

that we are participating in a unique opportuni-

ty to adopt two of the cottages at The WomansCrisis Center. In addition to a cash contributionwe agree to help perform maintenance on these

two cottages each year. We invite other areabusinesses to participate in this worthwhile

endeavor.

Just A Thought For Our Cities Future Forall of those who have lamented about see-ing new shows, bigger shows and why isnt

Branson attracting big names. I guess the shortanswer is, if you are a ticket reseller, Timeshare

Company who purchases tickets for your toursand or locals who like free or real cheap ticket

prices quit beating the shows up for cheapseats. If you arent interested in paying a decenticket price that will allow the show producers

the chance to make a prot while re-investing intheir building, lighting, costuming and their cast

and crew.then get used to it. These shows

dont run on $5 or $8 tickets and area appreci-ation. Pay them a fair price so they can reinvestand stay in business.its pretty simple really.

Give them the chance to create a quality producfor you to sell.

How would you answer this question? Weare regularly contacted by developers and other

national brokers looking for a business friend-ly town to invest in. Are we that kind of city?

These people are looking for locations to buildnew exciting projects that could help to growBransons visitation. We have had large develop-

ers or their brokers visit during the last coupleof years. These companies were considering

projects that would aid the tourism business, increase employment and help increase property

values. These companies were at times met withskepticism from some in city hall. We can oftenovercome that issue, but when they hear from

the local public (waiters, hotel clerks, otherbusiness people etc.) that the world in Branson

is coming to an end. They dont stick aroundlong nor do they give us the chance to try to

Observations, Opinions And Heard On The Street


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page 9

repair the damages.

This community has been spoiled with so many

years of double digit growth and so many yearswith several major announcements being made

per year. Now with at to one or two percentper year growth, while many other communitiesare experiencing double digit losses, we often

here woe is me or even worse, we dont needthat in Branson. Often investors are treated like

they are idiots by telling them that they or theirlenders dont know how to run a Branson

business or they dont know how much itshould cost to market their business or someother nonsense. If these guys are able to invest

and borrow the kind of money to build thesetypes of projects, they have a pretty good idea of

what it takes to be successful. It seems we havebecome more focused on just taking market

share from our competitors and neighbors

instead of growing the pie bigger so everyonewins. STOP IT!

We constantly have people from other parts of

the country asking us how to duplicate Branson.Community leaders, developers, and movers &

shakers from all around still look at Branson tosee what is happening. We have growing pains

and need to start re-inventing ourselves. We hadmany of the same issues twenty years ago and

while we were not here 40 years ago, others

tell us the same attitudes were present. Whyjust imagine what some said when a dam was

announced to be built on the county line. We

are sure some looked at it as a big chance forgrowing lake activities and increased visitation

while others were convinced that it would neverwork or that somehow their business would

have to compete with new businesses that weresure to come.

OK, some music shows may be down and evensuffering. Maybe the theater industry needs to

make some changes due to a changing marketdemographic. Its hard to get baby boomers

and those younger to go to 2 or 3 shows aday for 3 or 4 days, ride a bus and eat buffets3 times a day. Todays market expects to see

something that they havent seen before.evenVegas had to reinvent their production shows

and attractions. They learned that not everyonevisits Vegas to gamble but they would visit to

see a NASCAR race, rodeos, shopping, golf, ne

dining, major entertainers or just the experienceof Vegas. What they also know, if they dontget visitors, they dont have a chance to get thegamblers that made all of those incredible ho-

tels possible and pay to produce big name starsin wonderful venues. Yes gambling pays a lot of

the bills. But it appears that the gambling indus-try doesnt constantly ght other trafc drivers

or businesses that invest and may serve to helpdeliver new gambling prospects to their city.Thus they are constantly trying to grow the

pie, so everyone gets a chance at succeeding. Idoubt that anyone in Vegas is being paid to drive

their competitors parking lots to see how many

tickets they sold. No I believe they are focusedon making their product the absolute best and

most appealing to their market. No doubt theVegas market is also suffering, but they continueto invest and create new experiences for their

visitors.

In order to sell more tickets to our shows theyhave to be something special.and we have

many shows that certainly are special. Butunfortunately we also have many that arent

because they have shrunk themselves down inorder to support a shrinking number of ticketsales. It wont work just by asking the CVB

to spend more of the areas limited amountof marketing dollars to promote just shows.

It is time for some changes to be made by thetheater industry to improve the industry. They

need to heal themselves to some degree. If

your show or business is doing the same thingyou did twenty years ago, then you are probablyout giving $5 tickets away at the local Dennysduring breakfast. Being the cheapest isnt going

to save you.being the best will. As we saidin a prior section.our shows need to charge

prices that allow them to reinvest and reinventthemselves. Lets get our heads up and be

Branson again. Dont just wait for SDC alone tobuild new attractions. Of course that is just ouropinion, we could be wrong.


417-334-3149

2 0 1 2 C O M P A N Y H I G H L I G H T S

TransactionsNumber of Transactions 35

Gross Leasing and Sales Volume $20,823,469.28Transaction Size from $12,600 to $4 million Leasing Volume. 64, 041 sq. ft.

Property ManagementManagement Portfolio reached 486,228 square feet by year-end

Construction ManagementMajor Projects Include the Remodel of Vista Plaza After Tornado and Rehab of Grand Village

branson commercial real estate 2013

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