— By Tony Solomon of Marcus & Millichap — The positive relationship between retailers and rooftops is proving true in key ways across Los Angeles County. The market’s retail vacancy has risen in recent years — with the metro-wide rate up 120 basis points since 2022 – but the overall measure of 6.5 percent belies strong local dynamics. Retailers are continuing to find opportunities, especially in zones with recent and upcoming residential growth. Multifamily vacancy dropped by 50 basis points or more last year in the Santa Clarita Valley, Southeast Los Angeles and the South San Gabriel Valley. These same submarkets recorded retail vacancy rates at or under 5.2 percent at the onset of this year, which are some of the lowest in the county. Property performance momentum is set to continue in those areas amid numerous upcoming move-ins, including from tenants like Savers and Planet Fitness. The growing local apartment sector is expected to help absorb the primary area of heightened availability: Downtown Los Angeles. Retail vacancy here jumped 220 basis points last year to 9.1 percent, more than 100 basis points above the next highest submarket. Thankfully, that vacancy pressure may begin to ease in the near future. …
Atlanta’s retail market is proving it knows how to adapt, evolve and outperform, even in the face of macroeconomic headwinds. Despite a moderation in leasing and investment sales activity in recent quarters, the city’s fundamentals remain strong. Vacancy rates are at historic lows, rent growth is outpacing the national average and population and income growth continue to fuel long-term demand. Demand and demographics With vacancy rates consistently under 4 percent, Atlanta remains one of the tightest retail markets in the country. The appetite for well-located retail space hasn’t waned, even as broader economic uncertainty has slowed transaction velocity. In fact, strong absorption numbers and a limited supply pipeline have bolstered landlord confidence and pricing power across the metro. What’s driving this resilience? A booming population, rising household incomes and a steady influx of corporate relocations. Employers like Microsoft, Google and Cisco are expanding their footprints, bringing with them jobs, workers and spending power. Some of this growth has been particularly noticeable in Midtown. Redevelopment playbook Instead of ground-up development, Atlanta’s growth strategy has increasingly focused on reinventing aging retail centers in prime locations. With construction costs high and land increasingly scarce, developers opt to reimagine what already exists. These projects …
By Duke Wheeler, Reichle Klein Group The ongoing redevelopment of nonfunctional department store structures such as Sears and Elder Beerman, along with the retenanting or repurposing of structures such as Kmart, Giant Eagle and Value City, paved the way for many statistical and actual market improvements in the greater Toledo, Ohio, trade area. This positive trend and message supersede the closing announcements from over the past several months. First, the numbers: The overall retail market vacancy rate improved from 11.5 percent to 8.3 percent over the prior five-year period. This represents approximately 650,000 square feet of positive absorption. Most of this absorption occurred among anchor space, defined for the purpose of this article as space 20,000 square feet or larger. The vacancy rate for anchor space improved from 11 percent to 5.1 percent. Self-storage played a large role as roughly 300,000 square feet of anchor retail space was converted by the storage industry. The balance of positive absorption can be attributed to pent-up retail demand as occupiers compete for well-located, existing space in a market with limited new construction and increased construction costs. In some cases, landlords have found or will find themselves better off with a replacement tenant than …
— By Caleb Hodge of KWP Real Estate — The Los Angeles office market is undergoing a transformation. Finally. Downtown LA and most of the submarkets were decimated following the pandemic, but leasing activity is increasing. In fact, the fourth quarter of last year saw the highest annual leasing activity since the pandemic was officially declared “over,” according to Savills Research and Data Services. How is this possible? The answer lies in the evolving identity of office spaces, which is driven by the demand for creative office. Despite increased asking rates in certain submarkets, Los Angeles is still a tenant-driven office market. The rub is that hybrid-working models continue to, at times, complicate leasing decisions. Fortunately, highly sought-out creative office space in Los Angeles offers two key incentives: premium amenities and functional, innovative office designs. Creative office space may still be considered niche, but the amenities and design layouts are critical when bringing employees back to the office. In fact, those attributes are highly desired by most modern office workers, whether their industry or physical space is considered “creative” or not. With traffic being a constant factor in LA, centrally located offices with easy commutes for a majority of workers …
Nashville’s office market is navigating a transformative period as the city evolves into a national powerhouse for commerce, culture and corporate investment. Fueled by continued population growth, economic diversification and a wave of new developments, Nashville remains an attractive and resilient market despite headwinds in the broader commercial real estate landscape. Economic trends Nashville’s economic landscape continues to shift in ways that support long-term office market vitality. Population growth: One of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, Nashville continues to benefit from a steady influx of new residents. The expanding talent pool is a major driver of office demand as companies look to establish or expand their footprint in a market rich in skilled labor and cultural vibrancy. Diversifying economy: While music and healthcare have long been economic cornerstones, the city is now seeing strong momentum in sectors like technology, finance, professional services and logistics. These industries bring high-paying jobs and are increasingly seeking high-quality office space that reflects their evolving workplace needs. Return-to-office strategies: Like many U.S. markets, Nashville has witnessed the rise of hybrid work models. However, rather than diminishing the importance of the office, this shift is redefining its role. Employers are focused on right-sizing their …
By James Barry III, The Barry Company The Southeast Wisconsin industrial real estate market has been having a very good run for the past several years. Vacancy rates have continued to stay at historically low levels, absorption of space has declined a bit, but remains consistent, and rental rates and sale prices have climbed steadily upwards. According to the latest statistics gathered by the Commercial Association of Realtors – Wisconsin (CARW), the overall vacancy rate for industrial space in Southeast Wisconsin is 5.7 percent, well below the historic “natural” vacancy rate of 7 to 8 percent (see chart above). Certain major submarkets have astonishingly low vacancy rates: 1.3 percent in Waukesha County, 0.5 percent in Sheboygan County and 0.6 percent in Walworth County. These submarkets have almost no industrial space available, and any newly available space tends to be snatched up very quickly at premium lease rates or sale prices. Given the lack of available industrial land in many of Southeast Wisconsin’s submarkets and the lack of new speculative construction, this low vacancy environment promises to continue for the foreseeable future. South I-94 Corridor The major exception to this low vacancy rate scenario in Southeast Wisconsin is the South …
— By Patrick Barnes of Avison Young — The Los Angeles industrial property market has experienced increasing space availability and shifting tenant priorities over the past several quarters. Due to concerns about potential labor strikes at East and Gulf Coast ports, the anticipated surge in short-term sublease demand failed to materialize in the fourth quarter of 2024. Additionally, with a labor contract agreement reached in January, any lingering expectations that rerouted shipments would continue to bolster West Coast activity have largely dissipated. Despite a 21.7 percent year-over-year increase in TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) volume from 2023 to 2024, sublease availability has risen significantly as TEU tenants have either warehouse capacity or shipments leaving the region by rail. Companies today are reassessing their space needs, focusing on cost savings and operational optimization rather than expansion to deal with inflation and tariffs. Sublease space increased by 12.8 percent quarter over quarter, reaching 11.2 million square feet and pushing the overall availability rate to 9.3 percent. These changes have also led to a drop in industrial rental rates. After peaking at $1.97 per square foot in 2023, average rents have fallen 26.4 percent to $1.45 per square foot in fourth-quarter 2024. However, Class …
Nashville’s industrial real estate market closed 2024 with a clear message: this metro is a logistics juggernaut, blending robust demand, strategic location and a dynamic investment landscape. With a vacancy rate ticking up to 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter amid new supply, yet absorption exceeding 4.2 million square feet year-to-date, the market’s resilience stands out. Rents climbed to $9.94 per square foot, and industrial sales topped $1.4 billion — a 37 percent surge year-over-year. The takeaway is unmistakable for stakeholders: Nashville’s industrial sector thrives on its ability to absorb growth while signaling new opportunities for 2025. Economic engines Macro and local economic trends underpin this strength. Nationally, e-commerce sales hit $308.9 billion in fourth-quarter 2024, a 9.4 percent increase year-over-year, according to Commercial Edge. This uptick amplifies demand for warehouse and distribution space. Locally, Nashville’s job growth moderated to 0.9 percent in 2024, according to Oxford Economics, down from 3.2 percent in 2023. But industrial sectors shone in the report: manufacturing jobs grew 2.2 percent and trade, transportation and utilities grew by nearly 0.5 percent. The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce reported that 79 percent of 2024 business relocations and expansions involved industrial users, promising 3,309 new jobs. With …
The future of retail is bright for those willing to innovate, says Kathleen Brill, executive vice president and director of leasing and strategic partnerships for East Peoria, Illinois-based Cullinan Properties. “It’s no longer about square footage — it’s about activation,” emphasizes Brill. “Mixed-use, walkability and experience will continue to shape leasing trends.” Grant Mechlin, executive director of retail and multifamily brokerage services for St. Louis-based Sansone Group, says the narrative of retail leasing has shifted from survival to strategy. “Retailers are being more selective about where and how they grow, but there is no slowdown in activity,” he says. “Physical stores remain critical to brand identity, customer acquisition and fulfillment. Looking ahead, we expect to see more hybrid uses, especially where retail blends with wellness, services and entertainment.” Today’s retailers are activating their storefronts and rightsizing their footprints at a time when the cost of construction is at a record high, and many national chains have announced store closures or bankruptcies. The supply pipeline, already extremely thin by historical standards, will be further constrained by rising construction costs, helping limit fluctuations in vacancy rates, states Cushman & Wakefield in its first-quarter retail report. The brokerage firm reports a national vacancy …
— By Brian Anderson of CBRE — Utah’s retail market is shaped by its young population and large households, driving demand for big box stores and quality consumer brands. Utah has the youngest median age of any state in the U.S. by nearly four years, and the largest median household size. Our retail real estate market mirrors these realities. Large-box grocers and membership warehouses dot the landscape, creating gravity points that draw junior boxes, shops and restaurant users to these neighborhoods. Utah’s household incomes continue to rise, while the per capita income remains average. This has led to a concentration of quality — though not luxury — consumer brands in most retail centers. Despite challenges in construction and finance markets, Utah’s ongoing housing expansion is pushing box users and grocers to open new locations. The Salt Lake and Provo MSAs are expected to see several new big box and large grocery stores, mostly in outlying communities, after a quiet 2023 and 2024. Smaller-format grocers focused on organic food are also in permitting stages in established communities. These new locations will spark competition for restaurant and shop users. Health-conscious brands are expected to take space in desirable centers as 2025 progresses. …
Newer Posts