Market Reports

Atlanta Multifamily Sales Market Downshifts from ‘White Hot’ to ‘Hot’

by John Nelson May 23, 2022

Like much of the rest of the country, the Atlanta multifamily market has been white-hot with strong occupancies and rent growth that is contributing to outsized returns for owners, investors and developers. Recent increases in financing costs does not mean the music is stopping, but the tempo is slowing a bit. Atlanta’s multifamily fundamentals are still outstanding. Occupancies are holding strong and rents are continuing to rise. According to Northmarq’s fourth-quarter 2021 research, occupancy improved by 90 basis points while asking rents spiked by 15.9 percent at year-end. The compelling story fueling investor interest — growing demand and limited supply of housing options — remains firmly in place. In addition, there is plenty of investor appetite and capital available for multifamily assets for both debt and equity financing. The big change that has occurred over the past several weeks is the increasing cost of debt that will likely take some of the edge off what has been an ultra-aggressive investment sales market. The 10-year Treasury was 1.73 percent on March 1, 2022. At the end of April, it was 2.91 percent, a 118-basis-point increase in less than two months. Additionally, lender spreads have widened over this same period — 30 …

May 23, 2022

Georgia Market Reports Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Atlanta Retail Market Stays Hot With Unique, Experiential Offerings Around Town

by John Nelson May 16, 2022

Atlanta continues its streak as a high-growth market for retail. Low vacancy rates have turned up the competition for quality spaces among tenants and rents have continued to climb. Competition and a landlord’s market have sparked new trends as developers further refine their approach to finding retailers that drive traffic and retailers search for fertile and readily available locations, including submarkets outside the intown submarkets. Northeastern and West Coast brands have followed the trend of people moving to the Southeast, landing locations in suburban and exurban submarkets often filled with high-income, educated populations. As cities like Newnan, Cumming, Roswell, Woodstock, Peachtree City and Alpharetta see population density continue to grow, retail and restaurants are following. Suburbs and exurbs are also attracting urban dwellers from Atlanta seeking a quieter, yet similarly amenitized lifestyle they may have experienced closer to attractions like the Atlanta BeltLine. During the pandemic, people also got used to staying close to home and are now reluctant to drive far to take care of day-to-day needs and enjoy amenities, giving a boost to Ga. Highway 400 corridor developments like Avalon and Halcyon, as well as Ashley Park in Newnan. Unique offerings Hot trends emerging in Atlanta are “eatertainment,” …

May 16, 2022

Georgia Market Reports Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Atlanta Lands Big Office Deals, but Overall Tenant Demand Remains Uncertain

by John Nelson May 9, 2022

In many ways, metro Atlanta is a tale of two office markets. Google, Microsoft, Papa John’s, Visa and FanDuel are just some of the heavy hitters that have signed major deals over the last year and a half, fueling leasing activity that is getting closer to pre-pandemic norms. Much of that action has been centered in the Central Business District (CBD), which registered a 68 percent year-over-year increase in leasing volume compared to first-quarter 2021. According to research from CoStar Group, leasing volume for the entire market totaled 3.2 million square feet in the first quarter, which is on par with the 10-year quarterly average. Midtown, where more than 2 million square feet of new product is under construction and the majority of corporate heavyweights have planted their flag, led all submarkets in leasing activity, with Cushman & Wakefield reporting nearly 314,000 square feet of new leases signed in the first quarter. Midtown’s overall walkability, abundance of high-rise residential units, new office buildings and access to talent from local universities and mass transit have enabled it to become a talent magnet for major employers and one of the nation’s premier submarkets. However, the vast majority of office tenants in metro …

May 9, 2022

Georgia Market Reports Restaurant Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Atlanta’s Resilient Restaurant Sector is on the Rebound Post-Pandemic

by John Nelson January 24, 2022

When I recently looked into a prime site in Atlanta’s bustling West Midtown district on behalf of one of my restaurant clients, I quickly realized that several restaurants were eyeing the space. There were six other restaurant groups interested in leasing the space, creating a bidding war at rental rates far higher than my client wanted to pay. Heated competition for available restaurant spaces is by no means unusual in the Atlanta market these days, particularly for intown Atlanta, or the portion of the city located within the Interstate 285 loop and containing some of the city’s most urban, in-demand neighborhoods including Old Fourth Ward, EAV (East Atlanta Village) and Poncey-Highland. It’s been a rollercoaster stretch for the retail and restaurant sectors since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Large decreases in sales at the outset were followed by a substantial recovery by early 2021, only to be followed by a setback in some markets over the summer caused by the more contagious Delta variant. Despite the challenging conditions, Davis said his clients have been forging ahead with their expansion plans. These clients have benefitted from their history of strong sales and the ability to adjust their service models (such …

January 24, 2022

Georgia Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Ongoing Population, Job Growth in Atlanta Drives Multifamily Demand

by John Nelson January 3, 2022

Atlanta remains an incredibly active market for multifamily demand from both a renter and investor standpoint. The Atlanta metropolitan statistical area (MSA) boasts a population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau of more than 6.1 million people, an increase of 14.3 percent over the past 10 years, and ranks consistently as one of the top recipients of in-migration in the country. The continued influx of new residents and rising home pricing have led to a vacancy rate of 4.9 percent, the lowest recorded in the MSA since 2000. In the third quarter, rents reached the highest average in Atlanta’s history of $1,561 per unit, an increase of 21.3 percent year-over-year. While on average apartment communities tend to see an average occupancy rate around 95 percent, eviction moratoriums have pushed occupancies at many to as high as 99 percent leased as property managers seek to make up for lost revenue. Residents are flocking toward urban infill projects in walkable parts of the city, such as in the micro-market along the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail where effective rents reached $2,052 per unit, commanding a 31.5 percent premium over the metro Atlanta average. However, there has also been substantial rent growth recorded in …

January 3, 2022

Georgia Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Just Like the Rest of the Country, Atlanta is Also Shattering Industrial Records

by John Nelson December 15, 2021

The Atlanta industrial market has been hot and setting records for quite some time now, and the third-quarter numbers for 2021 show that this trend is continuing as we are once again setting all-time record highs for activity, positive net absorption and new construction. Activity for the Atlanta industrial market for the third quarter alone was over 24.6 million square feet, which beat the previous record for a single quarter by over 4.1 million square feet. Adding the third-quarter numbers for activity to the previous three quarters, Atlanta has posted a new record high for a four-quarter period with over 82.2 million square feet of activity. This breaks the previous four-quarter record for activity by over 6.4 million square feet. It would certainly be logical to conclude that the net absorption numbers would be robust and positive as well for the same time periods, and you would be right. Atlanta set another record for positive net absorption with over 12.1 million square feet, which was over 2.8 million square feet higher than the previous record. When you add the third quarter numbers to the previous three quarters, you will see again a new record high for a four-quarter period with …

December 15, 2021

Georgia Market Reports Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Atlanta’s Office Market Trending Upward as Workers Set to Return En Masse

by John Nelson July 11, 2021

Following a challenging year in 2020, momentum in the Atlanta office market is beginning to trend upwards. The COVID-19 pandemic forced office users and owners to sideline their business plans and made tenants reevaluate their office needs. As government restrictions have lifted and vaccines for COVID-19 have become widely available, many companies in Atlanta are going back to the office and the “new normal” for the workplace is here. There have been several notable office announcements made in Atlanta this year. Two large technology corporations announced they were expanding their plans for major hubs in Atlanta, and companies including Adecco and Minute Maid announced plans to make Atlanta their headquarters or a hub. In total, there have been over 20 major relocation or expansion announcements in the past year, accounting for more than 3 million square feet of recent or anticipated near-term absorption. Atlanta’s most significant office lease in 2021 has been Global Payments’ 206,542 square-foot commitment at 5995 Windward in the North Fulton submarket. Other notable leases include Soliant Health’s 87,419-square-foot deal at Summit at Peachtree Parkway in the Peachtree Corners submarket and ServiceMaster’s 53,440-square-foot lease at One Glenlake in the Central Perimeter submarket. Other companies including Centene and …

July 11, 2021

Georgia Market Reports Restaurant Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Ambitious Mixed-Use Projects are Adding New Retail Density Around Atlanta

by John Nelson July 5, 2021

Atlanta is a city that is always evolving. Even prior to the pandemic, rapid change seemed to be the one constant thing about the market. This continues to be true today; from downtown to the furthest suburban reaches, Atlanta’s retail landscape is vibrant with new brands and ambitious projects. One of the most notable areas of growth in greater Atlanta is the expansion of single-tenant operators, especially quick-service restaurants. New national players such as Whataburger and Raising Cane’s are entering the metro Atlanta market, as other popular chains such as Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers and gusto! continue to expand. Evolving faster than restaurants, however, are discount retailers. Forbes recently noted that The TJX Cos., Ross Dress for Less, Burlington and Five Below are among the chains with active expansion plans. Dollar Tree also recently announced Family Dollar Tree, a new concept that combines its flagship brands into a hybrid shop for more rural communities with less convenient access to necessity retail. While some grocers such as Kroger and Sprouts Farmer Market have slowed growth, Publix is picking up the slack, opening and planning multiple locations throughout greater Atlanta. German discount grocer Lidl, which opened its first U.S. store just …

July 5, 2021

Build-to-Rent Georgia Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Investors are ‘Swarming’ Atlanta’s Multifamily Market, Driving Pricing Up

by John Nelson June 28, 2021

Atlanta is a hot spot for investing in multifamily assets as the market emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. The apartment market’s fundamentals, including occupancy and rent growth, have held up considerably well, making the market extremely attractive to buyers. Because the Atlanta market has an abundance of capital looking to be deployed, prices are being driven up significantly and cap rates driven down. Multifamily has outperformed many other commercial real estate sectors during the pandemic, considered a “hot-ticket asset class” by investors, which leads to new capital swarming the Atlanta apartment market. Many multifamily properties are now routinely trading at a sub-4 percent cap rate, indicative of the vast amount of available capital and the confidence that investors have in the product type. However, rather than clearing the market and searching for as many prospective buyers as they can, sellers are looking at a smaller subset of dominant, well-known investors that they know will deliver and get the transaction done. They are seeking six to 12 well-recognized, established players that can execute a deal at top prices. It is an extremely competitive process, and all buyers know they have to swing high on pricing. Oftentimes, no one broker is selected …

June 28, 2021

Georgia Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Latest Shift in Atlanta’s Industrial Landscape: Mid-Sized Deals are All the Rage

by John Nelson April 5, 2021

While retail and office have had to adjust to a COVID-19 world, industrial has been the beneficiary. E-commerce, supply chain and last mile delivery are all the rage. But what has really gotten economic development leaders, elected officials and the media excited are the massive warehouse deals in cities like Atlanta that have created headlines and driven investor capital to industrial. Atlanta didn’t even truly get into the big-box industrial development game until 2004. From 1960 to 2006 there were just 13 buildings larger than 1 million square feet constructed in the metro area, but 11 were build-to-suits for users such as JC Penney, Kmart, Publix, Home Depot and the General Services Administration. Only Duke Realty (2004) and Majestic (2006) developed speculative properties spanning more than 1 million square feet. Between 2006 and 2015, there were 11 buildings more than 1 million square feet added to the city’s inventory, with seven of those south of Interstate 20, three in the Northeast 85 corridor and one on the Interstate 20 West Corridor. As Atlanta’s economy roared back in 2016, the market exploded with 17 new big-box facilities in just five years. While prior to 2015 the field of players constructing these …

April 5, 2021

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