Living Life

Every family has one: that person who keeps everyone else on their toes. It’s rarely the oldest child. More often it’s a middle or youngest, someone who is unapologetically themselves.

In my family, we have two.

The first is my daughter, Mara. At 25, she’s not only brilliant (she’s studying to be a pharmacist!) but also has the gift of keeping the whole family in stitches almost every day. The second is my three-year-old granddaughter, Sylvie, who is silly, strong-willed (just try to do her hair!), and lives every moment to the fullest.

Sylvie just being Sylvie

Both of them remind me of something important. It’s easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of everyday life. But if we don’t make time to be silly and laugh, and if we don’t have the courage to be who we really are, we waste one of the greatest gifts we’ve ever been given: this life.

I’m sure you have someone like this in your life too. Maybe it’s the one you wonder will ever be serious. Maybe it’s the one who is always fighting to do things their own way. Or maybe it’s the one who simply lives every moment to the absolute fullest.

It’s tempting to see those people as the exhausting ones, the ones who test our patience and throw off our plans. But I’ve come to believe they are doing something for the rest of us. They give us permission. When Mara makes the whole table laugh, she reminds us that joy is allowed, even on an ordinary Tuesday. When Sylvie refuses to sit still for a ponytail, she shows us what it looks like to know exactly who you are, and to not apologize for it.

We went on vacation and Mara left us a present!

Most of us learn to tone ourselves down as we grow up. We worry about what others think, we save the fun for “someday,” and we get so busy that the days blur together. These two haven’t forgotten what the rest of us are still trying to remember.

As the year starts to wind down, my hope is that we can all laugh and smile a little more, and be our authentic selves a little more. Take a cue from the person in your family who never learned to hold back. Notice them, learn from them, and thank them for it.

Life is meant to be lived, not just tolerated.

Who’s the “one” in your family?

The Robots Are Coming

I found this  video on Embodied Ai and the future of investing on MorganStanley.com very interesting and thought you all would be interested : https://www.morganstanley.com/insights/videos/humanoid-robots-adam-jonas

Now that’s a great weekend!

It’s official… summer is on in the mountains.

Hope you all are getting out plenty with friends and family. 

My favorite pastime of the season has to be boondocking in my RV, and the plethora of outdoor activities that accompany. Mountain biking, pack rafting, hiking, and drinking a good beer with friends afterwards is a frequent occurrence out here in the mountains! Last night it was a river fest in Dolores, CO.  Next week, back in Utah to celebrate the life of my friend Bonnie Barry, 5-7:00 PM, Thursday, June 12th, 2025, at Jeremy Ranch Country Club, Park City, UT. 

 Bonnie lived a full and blessed life, carrying on the family real estate business for decades, and her first passion, travel. 
Let’s hear what you are up to this summer, and hope to see you around the campfire!!

Michael

A GOOD TIME TO BUY??

Brighton Plaza, Boise Idaho

While we are experiencing yet another uncertain time for our economy (uncertainty is a historic and ongoing cycle) the part we have not experienced in our lifetimes is the dire straights we are facing for our entire system and structure of rule. 

If the goal is destabilization, inflation and a widening of the haves and have nots, we may just be seeing the tip of the iceberg. I’d say buckle up, but…3+ decades in the heart of the industrial and distribution business has taught me a few lessons:

1.  Buy real estate

2. Down cycles unequally benefit the well prepared vs. the ill prepared in the long run. 

3. While inflation hurts our pocketbooks, and can stymy growth, real estate is the BEST hedge against the effects of inflation. 

4. The wealthiest people in the world own real estate and buy into and out of ‘down’ markets

I’m happy to report that I have some well prepared clients, like Container & Packaging, a youthful and energetic company located in Boise, Idaho, my childhood home. The innovative approaches their leadership team has taken has led them to be in an enviable position in their industry. Industrial Property Group is proud to be their broker in transactions in multiple states across the nation. We celebrate for both the leaders and the staff as they prepare to move into a new HQ building in Boise, brokered by Michael Jeppesen, SIOR, LEED AP, with IPG in Salt Lake City, and our long standing co-brokers in Boise, Devin Pierce, SIOR, and Dan Minnaert, SIOR, with TOK. 

The team at Container are in line with the 4 observations I noted above.

Initially they wanted to develop a new building, and while our team is more than capable to make that a reality, we explored the opportunities, and eventually made an offer on a potential development site. We noted the high costs and potential brain damage of development as we continued to explore existing opportunities in Boise. We found Brighton Plaza, built just over 20 years ago, for Brighton Development’s HQ. It had come across a rough patch of leasing and low occupancy after being sold to a potential owner occupant that experienced Covid-19 fallout and decided to put the building back on the market for sale.

The owners of Container bought it! Way to go guys!!

We helped structure a deal that required them to carry some vacancy in the short term but when the building is eventually stabilized it could be a home run scenario. 

Doing the analysis on their business, they determined the general population will continue purchasing products stored in containers they sell! So long as Container & Packaging can manage tariffs, and not be forced to absorb rising costs, but pass them to their clients, (eventually passed to consumers) they believe they can weather a storm. 

Lastly, these intelligent leaders understood that owning real estate is one of the pillars of great wealth. Now they are more in control of the financial destiny of their operating company, -and indeed the long term stability for their staff and families. What seems like a sacrifice or big risk now, will no doubt be an enduring safe harbor, creating immediate depreciation benefit, long term cash flow, and appreciation. 

Congratulations to my good friends at Container & Packaging! 

If you or your company is considering or is faced with real estate decisions, whether leasing, buying or selling, reach out and we’ll gladly give you our perspective and creative approach in these uncertain times. 

How do these Tumultuous Times effect Industrial Real Estate?

It has been a rough start to the 4th quarter with news of historic storm damage from Hurricane Helene and Milton.  Beyond that, war in both Ukraine and the Middle East create additional uncertainty. Currently there are more than 45 armed conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa alone, and another 35-armed conflicts in other regions of Africa, as reported by Geneva Academy.

Investopedia.com reports the following storm statistics last week:

• About 2.8% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product lies in the path of Hurricane Milton, one estimate showed.

• The analysis showed that while it is difficult to calculate, Milton could have a measurable impact on GDP.

• Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he was monitoring the economic impact of recent storms in his district and warned that increased insurance costs from weather disasters were becoming a “big problem.” 

While inflation is now down to an annual rate of 2.4%, the interest rate increases of last two years have managed to keep a lid on meaningful investment activity in most commercial real estate sectors.

In Salt Lake City we continue to see improvement in our industrial sector, with diminishing sublease space availability and inventory in smaller space increments tightening.  In fact, overall net absorption outpaced construction deliveries at mid-year according to our friends at Newmark.

Anecdotally, manufacturing interest and activity is buoyant. At IPG we are tracking several manufacturing requirements currently surveying the market with anticipation of making deals in the next 6 to 12 months.

Our anticipation is that the market will continue to favor quality tenants with notable leasing incentives for at least the next two quarters. Building owners are advised to do what they can to make the best first impression for prospective tenants.

Considerable viability in larger increments of warehouse space over 200,000 will be the “blue light special” for groups consolidating, expanding, or renewing leases. 

While consumer sentiment in Utah is slightly off that of the national trend, that conservatism is part of what has created long term stability and viability here in Utah. We predict a return to balance in the next 12-18 months.

Whether your industrial real estate needs lead you to Utah, or any place else in the Nation or the Globe, IPG can help navigate through the unknowns and uncertainties.

Reach out and let us know what you are experiencing