Archive for the ‘News’ Category

In April, Forbes.com named St. George the #22 “Best Small Places for Business” in April.

Brandon Vandermyde
Commercial Property Specialist

RelocateAmerica.com named St. George one of the “Top 100 Places to Live in America.” This is accredited to its sporting events, habitat protection, education, and outdoor activities that the area offers.

Brandon Vandermyde
Commercial Property Specialist

Utah Business Magazine ranked NAI the largest commercial real estate firm by transaction volume in the state.

So while I was in a great mood today at work, opening up my yahoo account to see which of my pleasant friends had emailed me today, I read an article that made me smile. It was called “Happiest Places to Live in America.”

Wouldn’t you know it, Utah was 2nd on the list. The only place that has happier people in the U.S. is Hawaii. If you have ever been to Hawaii, you know exactly why they are so happy- It’s gorgeous!!!

So why is Utah so happy?

Over 350,000 Americans participated in the Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index. The survey includes six categories including: work environment (job satisfaction), life evaluation (self-evaluation about your current life situation and the outlook of the short term), physical health, healthy behavior, basic access ( is it a safe place to exercise and walk, and community satisfaction).

In the final rankings, Hawaii scored 70.2 and Utah scored 68.3.

St. George, Utah specifically has several things to boast about. Several years in a row it was ranked the fastest growing micropolitan city in America. Recently it was ranked the safest communities to live in areas with less than 150,000 population.

Moral of the story? If you are looking for a great place to do business, safe environment, and to be among the happiest people in the country… Welcome to St. George.

Recently the government has been taking steps to boost the economy, and breathe some life into businesses. Many things they choose to spend money are not necessarily quantifiable, however the Home Run Grant just may be-

According to James Wood, the Executive Director of the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Utah, in 2009 the Home Run Grant:

• 3,645 home buyers received financial assistance of between $4-6,000 people.
• 19,508 jobs were saved or created that were construction related
• The value of homes sold was $830.9 million
• Earnings created was $659.8 million.

Although the Home Run Grant time line has been extended once, it is not anticipated to be extended again. So if you are a first time home buyer, many economists suggest that a few years from now, anyone who had a chance to buy in 2010 and didn’t will definitely regret it.

It is said by many economists that the housing market is what got the economy into this mess, and the housing market will get us out of it.

Commercial real estate across the nation, and commercial real estate in St. George Utah, are typically 12-18 months behind the trends that residential markets set. So when the residential market begins its recovery, commercial investors will come out of the wood works and start to realize the deals that will be available for them.