Features

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 209,000 in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), beating expectations and boosting confidence that this expansionary phase of the economy still has legs. A panel of economists assembled by the Wall Street Journal predicted a net gain of 180,000 jobs. Job growth is always a welcome sign for the commercial real estate industry — especially when the numbers exceed expectations — because employment drives demand for all types of space. To dissect the latest job figures and identify some of the underlying trends, REBusinessOnline reached out to three real estate economists for their insights: Steve Hovland, director of research at Irvine, California-based HomeUnion Inc.; Ken McCarthy, principal economist and applied research lead for the U.S. based in Cushman & Wakefield’s New York office; and Ryan Severino, chief economist at JLL who works out of the New York City office. What follows are their edited responses. REBusinessOnline: From a commercial real estate standpoint, what did you find most encouraging about the July job numbers and why? Ryan Severino: We are in the ninth year of economic expansion, and business and professional services continues to represent about one-quarter of the job gains, both …

A growing concentration of households in suburban areas throughout the country is sparking renewed interest in office properties located outside urban centers, according to a recent report from Marcus & Millichap. Millennials’ general preference to work in amenity-rich office buildings with walkable retail and dining options heightened demand for urban office space for much of the post-recession era, notes the report. Overall vacancy for urban office properties declined by 250 basis points during this period and clocked in around 14 percent as of the first quarter of 2017. This activity spurred a 7 percent increase in asking rents across America’s urban office markets, but demand for these properties is beginning to slow. The suburbs, where rents for stabilized properties land for new properties are cheaper, are currently poised to benefit from rising rents in urban sectors, according to the report. Compounding the opportunities for suburban office properties are the general demographics of those markets. According to the report, as of 2015, 64 percent of America’s households resided in the suburbs. That figure is projected to rise as high as 75 percent by 2025. Particularly in smaller areas with tighter labor markets, this proportion is an important consideration. In addition, the …