Market Reports

San Francisco East Bay Industrial Market Soars to New Highs

by Jeff Shaw November 29, 2021

By Steve Kapp, Executive Managing Director, Newmark Strong tenant demand, coupled with a limited supply of Class A industrial product, has pushed industrial rents in the San Francisco East Bay industrial market to new highs. Also known as the I-880 corridor, vacancy rates stood at 6 percent, down slightly from a year ago on a building base of 189 million square feet. Some submarkets like Fremont and Union City, as well as certain building types like new construction Class A warehouse, have performed even better than average. Warehouse rental rates now average above $1 per square foot, per month, in most East Bay markets. These show no signs of slowing down based on strong tenant demand. This demand goes beyond the typical ecommerce giants. Large lease deals were signed by Wine.com, Applied Materials, Home Depot and Chef’s Warehouse in the second quarter alone. Another trend is the rise of the life sciences sector. These firms have traditionally gravitated to research-oriented campuses in South San Francisco, Emeryville or Palo Alto. However, the I-880 corridor is chalking up a number of deals for pilot plants and good manufacturing practices (GMP) facilities. Sana Bio recently leased a 164,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility in Fremont, while Senti Bio …

November 29, 2021

California Market Reports Office Western Western Market Reports

Sacramento’s Office Market is Eager for Stability

by Jeff Shaw November 22, 2021

By Cole Sweatt, Brokerage Manager, Sacramento Region, TRI Commercial Now that we’ve had the chance to analyze the data from the first two quarters of 2021, it seems that consumers and businesses are experiencing positive trends throughout Northern California. However, the initial recovery has come with challenges, including semiconductor shortages, supply chain disruptions and increased commodity prices due to a confluence of demand from consumers. We have seen relief in some of these sectors, which has led to increased production and the stabilization of commodity pricing. Although inflation should curb a bit this year, this would seem to be a temporary activity as average inflation over the next couple years is projected to be higher than the average of the prior decade. How is the office sector reacting, particularly in the capitol region near Sacramento? Office sales have been lukewarm in the first part of 2021. Investment strategies continue to change due to economic uncertainty and the long-term goals of companies occupying real estate. Employees have continued to trickle back into the office, but many employers have extended their stay-at-home and/or part-time policies through the fourth quarter of this year. As a result, the market is trending toward a flight to …

November 22, 2021

California Market Reports Retail Western Western Market Reports

Valley Area Retail Market Slowly Picking Back Up

by Jeff Shaw October 20, 2021

By Yair Haimoff, Executive Managing Director, Spectrum Commercial Real Estate The COVID-19 pandemic slowed or halted markets across the world. But how did Los Angeles fare? Well, the retail market slowed in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, but, fortunately, it is slowly picking up with reopenings and the adoption of the COVID-19 vaccine. Looking back, recent transactions in the retail space have predominantly included food-related deals. With established fast food businesses like In-n-Out, Starbucks, Popeye’s Chicken, Chick-Fil-A and more showing more transactions, there is definitely a pattern of increased demand for services that support activities necessitated by isolation. However, there have also been deals that included gyms/fitness users, family entertainment, tutoring centers and a few other ancillary retail uses. It looks as if the reopenings are starting to bring in a renewed demand for more social activities, which, blended with the rise of fast food establishments, is a good sign the market is picking up. Looking at current retail development activities, the local market has been mostly quiet in terms of retail-only centers. This makes sense, as retail stores suffered during the shutdown, with many existing retailers turning to curbside pick-up services to stay afloat. Many developers simply aren’t …

October 20, 2021

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Greater Los Angeles’ Office Market is Bouncing Back

by Jeff Shaw October 13, 2021

By Steve Solomon, Senior Executive Vice President, and Kristen Bowman, First Vice President, Colliers International Greater Los Angeles leasing activity surged, reaching nearly 3 million square feet in the second quarter. Although higher than the past few quarters, it was significantly lower than the 2019 pre-pandemic quarterly average of 4.6 million square feet. Much of the activity occurred in West Los Angeles, where large expansions and renewals were signed by tech, media and entertainment tenants. While leasing did ramp up, overall vacancy continued to rise, eventually reaching a historic high of 19.4 percent. This rate, which includes direct and sublease space, is 160 basis points higher than the previous peak in 2013 when it hit 17.8 percent. Nearly 25 percent of office space, whether vacant or currently occupied, is available for lease. There is currently 4.9 million square feet of speculative new office construction underway delivering by 2023 in Greater Los Angeles. These major developments, which do not include renovations, are currently 30.7 percent pre-leased. Over half of this new construction is in West Los Angeles, which has a higher pre-leased rate of 36.6 percent. The rate is highest in Central Los Angeles, where Netflix has snatched up 44.6 percent …

October 13, 2021

California Industrial Market Reports Western Western Market Reports

Industrial is the Belle of the Ball in LA

by Jeff Shaw October 6, 2021

By Robert Flores, Senior Vice President, CBRE Not too long ago, industrial real estate was generally viewed as an obscure and often unpopular subset of commercial real estate. Instead of owning a concrete box, many investors and developers were drawn to the flashier structures in Central Business Districts and hip submarkets. Fast forward a few short years, and industrial has firmly taken center stage for many who might have previously shunned the sector. The Greater Los Angeles area is one of the beneficiaries. The Greater Los Angeles region is the second-largest metro in the U.S. and is home to some of the nation’s most critical infrastructure. With the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach accounting for more than 40 percent of the country’s inbound container traffic and Los Angeles International Airport serving as a major gateway for passengers and air cargo, the local industrial market is ground zero for industrial users. At the close of the second quarter, the Greater Los Angeles industrial market totaled more than 1 billion square feet of rentable space with a vacancy rate of just above 1.5 percent, according to our CBRE research. Based on current activity levels and leasing velocity in the market, …

October 6, 2021

California Market Reports Multifamily Western Western Market Reports

Los Angeles’ Apartment Market Turns a Corner

by Jeff Shaw September 29, 2021

By Mark Ventre, Senior Vice President, Stepp Commercial As it turns out, COVID has once again delayed hopes of a return to normalized operations for apartment owners. Just when it seemed the shackles that have hindered the ability to raise rents and recoup lost income would be removed, it now appears the light at the end of the tunnel has grown more distant. Fortunately, there have been positive indicators that the economic environment in Los Angeles for the first half of 2021 has improved considerably from the second half of 2020. According to the California Labor Market, the unemployment rate lowered from 17.9 percent to 10.6 percent a year ago. Apart from the third quarter of 2020, which experienced an enormous economic bounce back of 33.4 percent, the second quarter of this year has seen a GDP increase of 6.5 percent, one of the strongest since 2003. This is great news for a city that was particularly hard hit, considering the amount of hospitality and leisure jobs. However, Los Angeles has still lagged the nation with respect to rent growth in 2021. Average asking rents have improved by 3.9 percent since the beginning of the year, far below the national average …

September 29, 2021

California Market Reports Retail Western Western Market Reports

Outlook is Bright as Orange County Retail Continues to Heal

by Jeff Shaw August 27, 2021

By Terrison Quinn, Managing Principal, SRS Real Estate Partners Despite a recent uptick in vacancy from 4.07 percent to 4.5 percent and a softening of rents from $32.99 to $32.55 per square foot, Orange County remains Southern California’s tightest retail market. And retail investors remain bullish for good reasons. Theaters, gyms and other uses shuttered by the pandemic have reopened to greater-than-expected customer demand. In fact, several health club chains have reported they are back to pre-COVID membership numbers. A multitude of entertainment groups and theaters are also communicating positive messages about demand and expressing an interest in expanding. Theater operators have generally said their limitation is more related to content than demand. The reopening success is even more obvious in categories like grocery stores and drive-thru restaurants. This is apparent in nearly every Orange County city as parking lots are visibly impacted and cars continue to spill out of fast food drive-thru lanes. Most notably, Amazon Fresh is aggressively opening new stores, while fast feeders like Raising Cane’s, Chick-fil-A and Starbucks can’t seem to open new stores fast enough. Sit-down restaurants have also experienced a resurgence in demand with many national and regional groups setting record same-store sales. Clearly, …

August 27, 2021

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Investors Look to Orange County Multifamily Sector for Stability, Diversification

by Jeff Shaw August 11, 2021

By Dan Blackwell, Executive Vice President, CBRE Demand for multifamily properties in Orange County continues to show great strength. This is driven by steady rent collections and favorable interest rates as apartments in the region have performed well during the pandemic. As investors look to buy stable, income-producing assets in Southern California, the focus on the multifamily sector in our region has intensified. We have witnessed increasing interest from first-time buyers over the past few weeks, in addition to continued interest from 1031 exchange investors and those who sat on the sidelines during much of 2020. This demand is buoyed by willing lenders offering favorable interest rates in the low 3 percent range due to the area’s excellent rent collection track record. Most buyers are looking for 50 percent to 60 percent leverage, with in-place capitalization rates typically ranging between 3.75 percent and 4.25 percent, depending on location. However, given the limited supply, we are seeing buyers bid pricing higher and cap rates compressing for many assets. Private investors continue to be the predominate buyers, mainly driven by the need for diversification and a stable cash flow. We are receiving more requests from LA County investors that may have sold a multifamily …

August 11, 2021

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Orange County Solidifies Itself as a Leading Life Sciences Market

by Jeff Shaw August 4, 2021

By Bob Caudill, Executive Vice President, Colliers International From public and private funding increases to the demand created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccine rollout combatting it, the life sciences sector is continuing to see a significant increase in interest from both developers and investors across the country. Rapid growth in advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP) science, which includes gene therapy, is also driving demand for lab and manufacturing space from both early and mid-stage biotech companies. All-important leasing data points, such as vacancy and net absorption, further compare favorably to the challenged office market, suggesting even more positive days are ahead for this sector. Orange County boasts world-class life sciences innovations and is continuing to grow its educational, employment and investment footprint. Given the amount of medical device and diagnostic equipment companies in Orange County that occupy office, research and development and industrial properties, life sciences has now become the largest industry in the market. In fact, Biocom’s 2020 California Economic Impact Report has Orange County generating $37.2 billion in economic activity and supporting more than 150,000 jobs. Orange County’s growth is attributed to several factors, such as UC Irvine’s $1 billion expansion of its Medical and Health Sciences Complex. UC …

August 4, 2021

California Market Reports Office Western Western Market Reports

An Inflection Point for the Greater Los Angeles Office Market

by Jeff Shaw June 23, 2021

By Nico Vilgiate, Executive Vice President, Colliers Greater Los Angeles has one of the largest office development pipelines in the nation, which includes new construction and some sizeable adaptive reuse projects. There is currently more than 6 million square feet in this pipeline with nearly 2.7 million square feet scheduled to deliver this year. This will increase overall vacancy throughout 2021. The most significant developments are occurring in Downtown and West Los Angeles, which contain more than 55 percent of all new office construction. One of the most prominent projects is One Westside, a shopping mall conversion that will contain 584,000 square feet of creative office space in West Los Angeles. Google will be moving into the building upon completion. The greater Los Angeles overall vacancy rate of 18.3 percent is 50 basis points higher than the previous peak in 2013 when it reached 17.8 percent. Sublease availability has increased over the past four quarters due to the work-from-home mandate. However, there has been an increase in the overall average asking rate in the past few quarters. The rate has increased by 4.4 percent year-over-year to about $3.54 per square foot, per month. Asking rate rental growth during this period was strongest …

June 23, 2021

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