As AUSPL members know, the USPS has for several years prevented public access to data regarding the amount of rent the USPS pays for leased post offices and other economic terms of post office leases (e.g., maintenance obligations, tax reimbursement, etc.).  Because of that, post office owners negotiating lease renewals cannot use information about nearby leased post offices as a source of information about comparable lease rents and terms.

For that reason, AUSPL has decided to assist its members by establishing a program whereby members can get information about general commercial lease rates in the areas in which their buildings are located.  That information can at least provide some knowledge about lease rates that might be used for renewals.

To establish the program, AUSPL has purchased a subscription to CoStar as the source of the information for rental rates.  CoStar is a proprietary database commonly used by commercial real estate brokers.

The information AUSPL provides through the program will normally serve only as a starting point and will not be perfectly comparable to existing postal rates.  Reasons the information will not be perfect include:

• The buildings with available rental quotes will not be post offices and will not have building features common in post offices;
• Some areas will not have a sufficient number of readily available commercial buildings for lease to serve as comparable properties for quotes; and
• Private sector commercial leases often contain lease terms different from the terms in USPS lease forms, and adjustments may be required to address those differences.

Information about the terms and conditions under which AUSPL can utilize AUSPL’s new lease rate search offering are available at this link.  For additional assistance or to order a lease rate search, contact the AUSPL office at 800-572-9483.