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February 2015 Published monthly Business Intelligence for the Golden Crescent: Lake Norman • Cabarrus • University City
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Let’s get physical
The boutique fitness business gives commercial real estate a healthy boost
By John Rehkop Fundamentals for the commercial mortgage market continue to improve as the number of delinquent loans is on the decline and the banks loosen the reins on lending. According to commercial real estate research firm Trepp LLC, commercial mortgage delinquency rates in the Charlotte market have dropped for 12 consecutive months from 7.62 percent in November 2013 to 4.32 percent last November.
Nationally, the story is much the same. The delinquency rates for the national commercial mortgage backed securities market fell to 5.8 percent in November, the lowest level in five years, Trepp reported. Delinquencies have fallen 163 basis points in the last 12 months. While the improving economy is the primary driver, Aquesta Bank President and CEO Jim Engel says “tougher (commercial) lending stan-
Cabarrus
Cabarrus Chairman Steve Morris brings a sense of comity to county politics
What’s brewing
By Dave Vieser A ride on Poplar Tent Road from Highway 73 to Cox Mill Road in Cabarrus County provides a striking
HOT PROPERTIES
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Amateur barista Steven Lim goes to Atlanta for major coffee championship Page 8
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gel. Last quarter, a key indicator of the health of the overall economy signaled that small business lending was back to pre-recession levels. The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, which measures the volume of new commercial loans and leases to small businesses, showed lending activity on par with 2006. The index tracks new loan originations among U.S. See BANKERS Page 8
Economic recovery means more arguments over growth
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dards also haven’t hurt.” Now, after years of standing pat, more businesses are doubling down to position their companies for growth. The pent-up demand for capital and increased appetite for risk has equated to significant loan growth for area banks such as Cornelius-based Aquesta, which enjoyed a 30 percent rise in their total loan portfolio in 2014. “There has been steady momentum and growth the last couple years,” says En-
17604 Spinnakers Reach Dr for $1,120,000
visual picture: Thousands of acres of land that just a few years ago were either farms or forest are being developed to accommodate new
housing developments. In some instances, zoning had to be changed to permit the projects to begin. On the wings of a strengthening economy, the new homes and their owners generate added jobs for the region, and, in turn, a significant increase in the need for local retail stores and services. Of course, not everyone is pleased to see open space disappear. Cornelius Town Commissioner Dave Gilroy, a business owner himself, says
there is a “very delicate balance to strike” between rural preservation and land development rights. “We have been working hard on it for a dozen years, and while not always getting it right by any means, we pursue both objectives—development and preservation of quality-oflife—in good faith. One key is having the discipline to just say no in many cases. The market will bring us all kinds of development, See RECOVERY Page 10
RECORDS Transactions Cabarrus 18 Mecklenburg 20 Mooresville 21 Foreclosures Cabarrus 22
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Mecklenburg 23 Mooresville 24 Corporations Cabarrus 23 Mecklenburg 25 Mooresville 27
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Mecklenburg county commissioner Jim Puckett will meet with businesses Feb. 19
Commercial real estate loans ‘much improved’
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