Market Reports

Ameris Bank Riverplace Tower Downtown Jacksonville

Financial Services Sector is Driving the Growth of Jacksonville’s Office Market

by John Nelson March 28, 2016

With economic conditions improving across the country and business confidence significantly increasing, the Jacksonville office market is gaining momentum and seeing positive space absorption for the fifth consecutive quarter in a row. Jacksonville’s tax-friendly environment, competitive business relocation incentives and strong labor pool have historically been a magnet for Fortune 1000 companies looking to establish back-office locations, but over the last few years, the city has evolved into a regional hub for the headquarters of domestic and international financial services companies. Most recently, Georgia-based Ameris Bank announced that it would move its headquarters this January from Moultrie, Ga., to the 26th floor of Riverplace Tower in downtown Jacksonville. Among the reasons why Jacksonville was an attractive location for its headquarters is the ability to tap into the city’s growing skilled workforce and the opportunity to increase the bank’s footprint and brand exposure in this market. Jacksonville is also becoming a hotspot for global financial firms like German global banking and financial services company Deutsche Bank and Australia’s Macquarie Group. Deutsche Bank has been building its presence in Jacksonville since 2008, employing about 1,700 people, and continues to import jobs from the Northeast to Jacksonville as it grows its business operations. …

March 28, 2016

Florida Market Reports Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Innovation Assists Orlando Office Market in Fighting its Way Back

by John Nelson November 9, 2015

After six painful years, vacancy is finally declining in the Orlando office market. Effects of the Great Recession on real estate markets have been thoroughly examined here before, but outside factors that have played such a prominent role in reshaping the office market are creating significant impact. These changes might appear to be negative, but they will ultimately prove positive. Quantum advances in communication and data storage, new attitudes regarding workplace culture, workspace sharing centers and virtual offices have stirred the submarkets that comprise the greater Orlando area. While they are affecting all sectors of commercial real estate, they are felt most acutely in the office markets, slowing employment growth and corporate expansion, which have always powered the rate of change in quarter-to-quarter vacancy declines. Cloud-based data storage and paperless transaction platforms have shrunk the size of private offices with file storage rooms. Text messaging, email and file sharing platforms such as Dropbox have reduced the need for face-to-face meetings and demand for conference rooms and private offices. Real estate closings that once involved several parties in a conference room are antiquated now. Over the past five years, staffed reception areas have given way to scaled down waiting salons with …

November 9, 2015

Florida Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Small Tenants Causing Big Demand for Industrial Product in Orlando

by John Nelson November 2, 2015

The industrial market in Orlando has undoubtedly experienced robust leasing activity over the first half of 2015, especially among the smaller users ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 square feet. With an average industrial vacancy rate of 9.3 percent throughout Southeast / Southwest Orlando according to second quarter 2015 market reports, quality space for smaller tenants is becoming more and more scarce and available dock-high small space is virtually nonexistent. Industrial is Rebounding Two specific factors can be directly linked to the current industrial shifts in Central Florida: construction spending and theme park growth. The construction industry is booming, in particular within the single-family and multifamily sectors, allowing construction companies of all sizes market share due to high demand for services. Industrial parks are welcoming back smaller construction business owners that may have downsized and operated out of their homes during the downturn but are now looking for larger warehouses and mixed-use spaces for business. Secondly, theme park expansions, spurred by the record year of tourism in Orlando in 2014, have caused many businesses that were on the back lots of the parks to be pushed back out into the marketplace. Higher tourism rates represent a boost in consumer confidence and …

November 2, 2015

Florida Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Job Growth Key to Orlando Apartment Market’s Strong First-Half Performance

by John Nelson October 26, 2015

Orlando’s multifamily market is in the midst of a golden era of sorts, as it sits squarely at the intersection of strong employment growth, an increasing population, a major demographic shift and a variation in lifestyle preferences. Together, these factors provide a tremendous tailwind for future strength in the local apartment market. While the national multifamily market continues to perform at a high level, Orlando is starting to show up on the radar of more institutional investors due to its recent outperformance and tremendous growth prospects. According to recent data from MPF Research, Orlando is on pace to see 5.6 percent rent growth in 2015, followed by 4.7 percent growth in 2016. The strong momentum in the MSA is being driven by a rapidly expanding and increasingly diversified job market. Going forward, the picture looks even brighter. MPF Research ranks Orlando as the No. 1 metro in the nation for job growth through 2020, with a growth rate (2.7 percent), more than twice the national average (1.1 percent). Unlike previous cycles, today’s growth is spread more evenly across employment industries, resulting in a more diverse, dynamic labor market. The highest growth sectors are forecast to be construction, healthcare/bio-tech, business services, …

October 26, 2015

Florida Market Reports Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Tourism Industry Has Orlando Retail Market Firing on All Cylinders

by John Nelson October 19, 2015

Underpinned by a $50 billion tourism industry that drew a record-breaking 62.3 million visitors in 2014 in addition to strong job, population and residential growth, there is no question that Orlando’s retail real estate market is stronger than ever. According to 2014 U.S. census data, Orlando outpaced 99 of America’s 100 most populous MSAs in year-over-year population growth. The City Beautiful also recently ranked as the No. 1 U.S. city for job growth by Fortune Magazine following a 3.7 percent increase in its employment base in the same year. The Orlando retail market has also benefited heavily from healthy gains in the housing sector, powered by Central Florida’s tourism and construction industries, which stimulate economic development in the region. Orange County Property Appraiser, Rick Singh, reported that average home sale prices were up more than 10.5 percent in 2014, while residential construction rose 79 percent in the same period. With this type of growth, Orlando is experiencing strong consumer spending and an increase in demand for retail space. The Orlando region’s Index of Retail Activity rose 8.5 percent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2015, while the metro-wide retail vacancy rate decreased to 6.5 percent, down from 8.2 percent at …

October 19, 2015

Florida Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Strong Demand Proves the Best is Yet to Come for Miami’s Multifamily Market

by John Nelson August 17, 2015

Miami’s multifamily market now ranks among the country’s strongest overall performers (if not the strongest). The city attracts, and benefits from, numerous tourists, investors, financial institutions, real estate funds, retailers and tourists from countries around the globe. The demand for condominiums and apartment buildings in Miami seems insatiable with the investors competing for increasingly scant deals. In practical terms, that means hotel and office developers often lose out across asset classes to the “ever-on-fire” multifamily sector. There is every indication in the first quarter of 2015 that Miami’s multifamily market’s upward trend will continue. Debt and equity continue to stream into the Miami-Dade County apartment and condominium sector from both local sources and out-of-area buyers attracted to solid asset performance and robust housing demand generators. Continued employment and population growth have bolstered housing demand as the overall Miami economy strengthened in 2014. The Miami metropolitan area added more than 30,000 jobs last year, and based on figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Miami-Dade County’s unemployment rate continued its downward trend to 5.4 percent in February 2015. According to the Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, South Florida’s population is expected to increase by approximately 29 percent between 2013 …

August 17, 2015

Florida Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

International Trade, Population Growth Allow Miami’s Industrial Market to Thrive

by John Nelson August 10, 2015

Miami, the “Gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean,” boasts one of the strongest industrial markets in the nation, with over 200 million square feet of industrial space serving one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States. Stronger-than-average population and employment growth count among the region’s chief demand drivers, along with robust international trade, a booming housing market and a globally acclaimed tourism industry. South Florida’s population is expected to grow by 100,000 people annually over the next five years, while the region also has the fourth-highest job growth rate in the nation. As a result, demand for housing and consumer goods is rising, creating a very dynamic industrial development, leasing and sales environment. Significant and ongoing investment in South Florida’s seaports, airports and intermodal transportation infrastructure is giving investors and businesses confidence in the long-term growth of the region. On the infrastructure front, there is the highly publicized, $2 billion expansion of PortMiami, one of the busiest ports in the U.S. for container traffic. The project includes a deep dredge, the addition of several post-Panamax gantry cranes, an intermodal/freight rail linkage, and a new truck/freight tunnel. Once completed this year, PortMiami will be the only port south …

August 10, 2015

Florida Market Reports Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports

New Developments Coming to Miami’s Top Submarkets Will Satisfy Retail Demand

by John Nelson August 3, 2015

Miami is known for its spicy nightlife and beautiful beaches; but those are not the only things the international city has to offer. As the economy continues to surge, many now consider Miami the third major market within the United States following New York City and Los Angeles. Within the city, the retail market has always been attractive to owners and tenants alike, but over the past three years retail has rocketed to the forefront. One of the major factors of this evolution is Miami’s growth, both in population and in tourism. Between being an international vacation destination, a major cruise port, and the gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America, Miami is constantly growing. The weather and city also attracts growth. The population in Miami now is at 2.66 million and Miami Beach’s hotels reported having occupancy levels at or above 94 percent during President’s Day weekend. With this type of growth, Miami is experiencing strong consumer spending and an increase in demand for retail space. Retail vacancies are at an all-time low while rental rates are breaking records. Currently, Miami is considered to be under-supplied per capita in retail. Over the past few years, Miami has been increasing …

August 3, 2015

Florida Market Reports Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Tampa Bay is the Recipient of Smarter Retail Concepts, New Development

by John Nelson July 20, 2015

The business and employment gains in the Tampa Bay market are helping landlords attract new retail names to the market to fill space and subsequently raise rents. The area shows good signs of a healthy market, with strong leasing activity and a growing need for new development. The retail vacancy rate continues to drop, ending 2014 at 6.3 percent versus 6.9 percent in the first quarter of that year, according to CoStar. Rents are positively going the other way, rising to $13.73 per square foot from $13.57 per square foot over the same time periods. Space is extremely tight in some submarkets, just 2.1 percent in south Tampa and northeast Tampa, and 4.5 percent in the larger I-75 corridor at the end of last year, according to CoStar. The lack of space can be attributed in part to the slow pace of new construction. Developers and their lenders are being more cautious, having learned lessons from the last recession. At the same time, a number of new concepts, all of which are good for the market, are arriving in Tampa Bay. The current situation puts landlords in even more control than they had last year. They’re using this period to …

July 20, 2015

Florida Market Reports Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Growth in Miami’s Urban Office Market is Spilling Into Suburban Markets

by John Nelson July 13, 2015

Downtown Miami is on fire by any measure. The neighborhood is home to more construction cranes than any other place in the U.S., businesses are moving in and expanding on an almost daily basis, hotel room rates and occupancy levels are at all-time highs, and new residents are relocating here from all over the world. A recent study by the Miami Downtown Development Authority found that greater downtown Miami’s residential population has literally doubled in size — from 40,000 people to 80,000 people — since 2000. Another 200,000 people commute to the area each day for business. The area’s commercial real estate market has closely followed this trajectory of growth, with Downtown Miami and the Brickell Financial District welcoming more than 2 million square feet of new Class A office product in the last five years. Strong demand among domestic and multinational companies, along with an improving economy, has resulted in positive absorption and record-setting lease rates in excess of $50 per square foot for premium space. Land values in downtown are also reaching new heights as developers spend as much as $125 million for one acre on the water. All of this is creating a steep barrier to entry …

July 13, 2015

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