Market Reports

Pandemic Hits Retail Investment Sales in D.C., But Signs of Revival Start to Show

by John Nelson December 22, 2020

The retail investment sales market in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore metro area, just like the rest of the United States, has been detrimentally impacted by COVID-19. Multi-tenant retail investment markets have essentially shut down, sellers and buyers are unable to come to pricing conclusions and most investment opportunities have shifted into urban areas that are experiencing more immediate distress. As COVID-19 cases continue to spike, and with further tightening of lockdown policy likely forthcoming, this trend will continue as the restaurant and entertainment industry bears the brunt of winter. This will present investors with the opportunity to purchase fundamentally solid urban real estate at a discount as the market for larger shopping centers waits to reset. It comes as no surprise that shopping center investment sales are anemic. Over the trailing three months in the D.C.-Baltimore area, there has been a paltry $49 million in sales volume across three transactions for retail centers exceeding $10 million. This compared to $196 million across nine transactions in the same period last year, a 75 percent decrease in volume. Further, of these transactions, two of them — Bel Air Town Center, purchased by JCR Cos. for $21 million, and Hagerstown Shopping Center, purchased by …

December 22, 2020

District of Columbia Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

D.C.’s Tax Rate Maze: An Imperfect System Has Increased Property Taxes for Many Real Estate Owners

by John Nelson June 15, 2020

By Sydney Bardouil, Esq. If you own or manage real property in the District of Columbia and are wondering why your real estate tax bill has gone up in recent years, you are not alone. One common culprit is rising assessed value, but that may not be the main or only source of an increase. A less obvious contributor may be a new, different, or incorrect tax rate. Since tax rates vary greatly depending on a property’s use, staying diligent when it comes to your real estate’s tax class and billed rate is critical. The District of Columbia applies differing tax rates to residential, commercial, mixed-use, vacant and blighted properties. Why is this important? Because the classification can make a considerable difference in annual tax liability – even for two properties with identical assessment values. For example, a multifamily complex assessed at $20 million incurs a tax liability of $170,000 per year while the same property, if designated as blighted, incurs an annual tax liability almost twelve times greater at $2 million. Therefore, the assessed value is just one piece of the puzzle. Keeping a sharp eye on a property’s tax bill for the accuracy of any tax rate changes …

June 15, 2020

Washington and North Virginia Rent Occupancy Graph

Content Partner District of Columbia Features Lument Market Reports Multifamily RED Capital Group Southeast Southeast Market Reports Virginia

Washington’s Tech Boom Changes the Multifamily Investment Calculus

by Sarah Daniels March 3, 2020

Washington and Northern Virginia are among the nation’s most expensive places to rent an apartment, which in part explains the billions of dollars being spent on apartment construction there. But Capital Area asset returns in the post-recession era haven’t clearly supported these decisions. From 2013 to 2018, rents in Washington and NoVA increased at respective compound annual rates of 3.2 percent and 2.6 percent, tabulating Reis data, materially slower than the 4.7 percent average growth recorded by the 50 largest U.S. apartment markets. Likewise, occupancy trends were no better than average, muted by heavy supply, suggesting that Washington NOI growth in most cases was measurably slower than in alternative markets. But everything changed last year. Although Washington has been a technology player for decades, the region’s strengths fell primarily in telecom and defense, markets in which proximity to government was a competitive advantage. But the region’s growing prowess in private applications of digital technology reached critical mass in 2019 with Amazon’s decision to site its East Coast headquarters in Northern Virginia, specifically with a view toward tapping its deep reservoir of high-tech talent. The impact on economic growth in the capital is only beginning and seems likely to fundamentally alter …

March 3, 2020

District of Columbia Market Reports Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Investment Demand Leveling off for D.C. Office Sector as Leasing Stays Lackluster

by Alex Tostado January 6, 2020

The office market in metropolitan Washington, D.C., is currently differentiated between a vigorous investment sales market and anemic leasing fundamentals. According to data from CoStar Group and Cushman & Wakefield, office investment sales have averaged $8.4 billion annually from 2014 to 2018 versus $5.5 billion annually from 2008 to 2013. Investment sales in the District have been dominated by Class A and trophy assets with little leasing risk, while demand is buoyed by foreign capital sources. In Northern Virginia, sales have trended toward core-plus and value-add investments led by domestic buyers seeking additional yield. Investors are more comfortable with leasing risk in Northern Virginia due to its robust job growth, a trend likely to continue given the jurisdiction’s comparative advantages in cloud computing, cybersecurity and internet infrastructure. Amazon’s selection of Crystal City for HQ2 and Amazon Web Services’ large block leasing in the Dulles Toll Road corridor are emblematic of these larger regional trends. However, there are signs that investment demand may have peaked for the current cycle. This year’s sales volume is the weakest in several years despite an influx of closings in September to beat Washington, D.C.’s increase to the transfer and recordation taxes from 2.9 percent to …

January 6, 2020

District of Columbia Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports

D.C. a Hotspot for Multifamily Investors, Lenders as Absorption Ticks Up

by Alex Tostado December 30, 2019

Driven by increasing high-paying jobs, billions of dollars in public and private investment and healthy population growth, the Washington, D.C., metro area boasts a dynamic multifamily market with rebounding rent growth and stabilizing occupancy rates. Washington, D.C., gained 20,500 jobs in June and another 13,000 jobs in July, according to the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services. Additionally, D.C.’s population topped 700,000 for the first time since 1975. The Washington metropolitan area’s total population has climbed to more than 6 million, and more households mean more demand for apartments. These strong fundamentals have led to increased rent growth in the apartment sector. D.C.’s average net asking rate is $1,990 — up 1.7 percent, making it the sixth-fastest rent growth in the United States, according to Reis. The net asking rate increased for 10 consecutive quarters. Between now and year-end 2020, asking rents are expected to climb 2.5 percent and 3.6 percent by year-end 2021, Reis notes. The District’s apartment occupancy rate is currently 94 percent. In nearby suburban Maryland, rents rose 1.2 percent, and in Northern Virginia, 1.4 percent. Demand, supply in balance Although there was concern over an influx of new construction, multifamily product has been well-absorbed. The …

December 30, 2019

District of Columbia Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Historic Level of Demand Meets Low Availability in Metro D.C. Industrial Market

by Alex Tostado December 23, 2019

As online shopping and a stack of newly delivered boxes by the door have become common in many American households, the behind-the-scenes institutional supports that make these habits possible have transformed the country’s real estate markets. The booming demand for data centers and last-mile staging for e-commerce is driving steady interest in industrial spaces, which shows no sign of waning. Since 2009, the industrial market has experienced 767 percent growth across the United States, surpassing retail to become the third ranked commercial real estate product type by sales volume. This sustained demand is outpacing limited availability, compressing capitalization rates to historic lows. In the metro Washington, D.C., area, there are a number of unique factors that contribute to this trend. High urban property values in the District itself have led to the conversion of a significant percentage of available warehouse space to other uses over the last decade, pushing industrial development into neighboring areas of Northern Virginia and Prince George’s County, Maryland. Many of the sites most easily suited for industrial purposes have already been developed, leaving higher barriers to entry and very few new options. As commercial businesses and government agencies adopt increasingly sophisticated technologies — like cloud computing, …

December 23, 2019

District of Columbia Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Nation’s No. 1 Data Center Market in Northern Virginia Isn’t Done with Boom Cycle

by Alex Tostado February 11, 2019

The Northern Virginia data center market continues to outpace the rest of the country’s leading data center markets by more than double. By the close of the first half of 2018, Northern Virginia had 317 megawatts (MW) under construction with Phoenix a distant second at 136.5 MW. (In real estate terms, industry standard is approximately 150 watts per square foot.) What drives Northern Virginia as the leader today is an unparalleled business ecosystem that has grown over the past 20 years from the original edge data center to today’s premier data center market. The market is a prototype for which subsequent data centers strive to achieve. Ideal Data Center Landscape Very few enterprises build their own on-premise data centers. Northern Virginia got its start as a leader in this space by going into colocation data centers. The companies that pioneered the movement, like Equinix, DFT and Exodus Communications, have brought Northern Virginia to where it is today. But, it’s more than that. It takes a confluence of legislative support, fiber, power, development, deployment of new IT technologies and other partnerships to allow the Northern Virginia market to flourish into the tech superpower it is today. Northern Virginia has also been …

February 11, 2019

District of Columbia Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Market Reports

D.C.’s Multifamily Market Sees Strong Demand for its Healthy Development Pipeline

by Alex Tostado February 4, 2019

Washington, D.C.’s multifamily market has enjoyed success in recent years, and 2018 has been no exception. The regional economy continues to function at an extremely healthy level, adding 77,100 new jobs in the trailing 12 months ending July 2018, much more than the annual average of 41,000 since 2010. The region has outgrown its previous dependence on the federal government, which contracted by 4,800 jobs over the same period, further highlighting the strength of the region’s private sector. This sustained economic upside is only further enhanced by the looming possibility of Amazon’s HQ2, Apple and other large tech contracts. The strong job growth has been matched by a steady increase in population, which has grown 10.44 percent since 2010, to roughly 6.25 million people. To accommodate such growth, the supply pipeline has been equally as robust, delivering nearly 13,000 units per year for the past five years. In addition to all the recent deliveries, absorption has remained steady and strong, with the market absorbing a net positive of 7,570 units over the trailing 12 months. Furthermore, Class A rents have still managed to grow 1.4 percent over the past year, while overall market rent growth has grown an even higher …

February 4, 2019

District of Columbia Market Reports Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Amenities, Transit Push D.C.’s Central Business District to New Heights

by John Nelson January 28, 2019

Investors have renewed their interest in office properties in the Washington, D.C. central business district (CBD) based on increasing tenant demand. The market is putting a higher value on the built-in amenities that exist in the CBD, like dining and entertaining options, transportation accessibility and architecturally timeless buildings. We can always tell the center of gravity of a city by where the brokerage shops locate. In D.C., CBRE’s latest move to the CBD from the East End puts all of the agency brokerage shops within feet of each other. With a healthy stock of historically significant, well-built office properties with value-add potential, the CBD is primed to continue its office renaissance. Transportation Infrastructure While the existing public transportation infrastructure in the CBD is an important factor driving businesses back to the submarket, shaving 20 to 30 minutes from commute times — whether by car, bus or train — is decidedly attractive to today’s employers. Combined with the variety of established dining, entertainment and hospitality options in the CBD, transportation is vital to attracting high-profile employers. The city’s law firms in particular have taken note. Over 20 notable practices have relocated their offices to the CBD in the last year alone. …

January 28, 2019

District of Columbia Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Land Constraints, Demand from Big Data Spur Rent Growth in D.C. Industrial Market

by John Nelson August 27, 2018

The 195 million-square-foot Washington, D.C., metropolitan industrial market features various sectors and centers of demand across the region. The overall market has been extremely healthy, with unique forces impacting the area’s primary regions of Northern Virginia, Suburban Maryland and Washington, D.C. The overall metro market expanded between first-quarter 2017 and first-quarter 2018. Net absorption in the period was 1.7 million square feet, albeit a significant slowdown from the previous 12-month cycle (4.2 million square feet). After falling significantly during the past five years, vacancy remained relatively flat in first-quarter 2018 and settled at 6.8 percent, a 10-basis-point drop year-over-year. A lack of available space limited opportunities for occupancy gains but allowed owners to increase asking rents. The average asking rent rose sharply to $10.04 per square foot, up from $9.58 per square foot one year earlier. Of the 1.9 million square feet of new supply under construction, 1.3 million square feet was in Northern Virginia’s less constrained but in-demand Loudoun County. Overall new supply was 55 percent preleased at the end of the first quarter. The Washington metro industrial market inside the Interstate 495 Beltway contrasts in many ways to the market outside the Beltway. The most significant difference is …

August 27, 2018

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