— By Devin Pierce, industrial specialist, TOK Commercial in Boise — In recent years, Boise’s industrial market has become a focal point for investors and developers drawn to the region’s economic growth and location. With demand for industrial space on the rise, the market has experienced an unprecedented wave of new construction aimed at meeting the needs of both local businesses and national tenants looking to expand their operations. This surge in development activity reflects Boise’s growing prominence as a logistics and manufacturing hub. However, as new projects come online, the market is also grappling with the challenges of balancing supply and demand, particularly in the wake of fluctuating economic conditions. Speculative Construction Drives Vacancy Surge Boise’s industrial market saw a considerable number of projects completed during the first half of 2024, with more than 2.2 million square feet of new construction delivered. Speculative construction accounted for more than 86 percent of these projects, totaling nearly 2 million square feet and marking a record high for mid-year. Top spec projects included nearly 1 million square feet at Red River Logistics Center; three new buildings (totaling 292,000 square feet) at Park84 in Nampa; and 396,000 square feet at Sky Ranch Logistics. This …
Market Reports
— By Holly Chetwood, Retail Specialist, TOK Commercial — The Boise MSA retail market had one of its strongest quarters on record with net absorption reaching 559,000 square feet at the end of March of this year. Multiple big-box spaces were backfilled in the first 90 days of the year including the former K-Mart and Gordmans spaces in Nampa as well as both Bed, Bath, and Beyond locations in Boise and Meridian. In addition, the highly anticipated Scheels opened its first Idaho store at Ten Mile and I-84 in Meridian. Along with a healthy level of net absorption, nearly 100 transactions were recorded, the highest number of deals seen in a quarter since 2021. The top five deals of the quarter were all over 25,000 square feet, however, leasing activity continues to be primarily driven by tenants in spaces below 2,000 square feet. These deals have accounted for 52 percent of transactions over the past 12 months. As demand stayed high, vacancy continued to tighten throughout the first 3 months of the year. Total vacancy ended the quarter at 4.4 percent, its lowest level in nearly a year. The majority of submarkets are seeing vacancy remain between 2 to 4 percent. …
— By Blake Bozett, founder and CEO, The Zett Group — The Boise metro (Boise, Eagle, Meridian, Garden City) is made up of 75 licensed assisted living facilities, 42 of which have more than 30 licensed beds. Of those 42 assisted living facilities, the ownership type is made up of: national owner/operator (18), local owner/operator (12), REIT (4), regional owner/operator (3), local development company (2), privately held real estate investment firm (1), 1031 investment platform (1) and non-profit (1). These ownership stats aren’t necessarily unique to other metros such as Seattle and Portland with institutional capital typically owning a large share of the buildings. What’s interesting to me on a micro level is that the single asset, one to two off owners are more interested in selling than years past. What started as a simple mom-and-pop operating business a few decades ago has turned into a sophisticated and challenging operating business with extreme expense, inflationary and regulatory pressures. Having come from the operations side of the business I’ve seen many of these challenges firsthand. Therefore, it no surprise why the local owner who has owned his/her assisted living facility for 20 years may have greater appetite for selling despite less …
— By Nellie Day — Boise was a hotspot of activity as the pandemic hit in 2020, with many people desiring more space, more access to the outdoors and, in some cases, a cheaper cost of living. Mike Erkmann, principal at NAI Select, fills WREB in on what the city and its commercial real estate landscape has been like since 2020. What are the notable trends occurring in Boise? The most notable trend occurring in Boise continues to be the expansive population growth. Boise was the fifth fastest-growing city in the U.S. in 2022 and 2023. We are expected to see 37 percent population growth between 2022 and 2050, with a predicted total MSA population of 1.1 million people. On average, we are adding about 15,000 people annually, which will continue to rank Boise at the top for fastest-growing cities in the U.S. What challenges is this market facing? Aside from the obvious challenges we are facing in the market, including higher interest rates and tougher lending requirements, we here in Idaho are facing a shortage of labor with the dramatic increases in the cost of living. Median sales prices in Boise have increased 78 percent over the past five years …
— By Karena Gilbert, Office and Investment Associate, Colliers — Idaho experienced significant population growth in recent years, and the commercial real estate market reflected that trend. The pace of growth has begun to slow, although overall growth is expected to increase over the next decade. The growth brought both business and talent to the state as the Boise MSA continues to maintain a healthy office market. Second-quarter vacancy sits at 7 percent, up from 6.1 percent in the first quarter and outperforming the national vacancy rate, which stands at 16.4 percent. The Boise MSA has experienced an 18.5 percent job growth over a five-year period compared to the national growth level of 3.4 percent. Despite these promising stats, Idaho is not immune to the economic turbulence being felt on a national level. With interest rates rising and market uncertainty, some buyers have become more cautious while others still actively seek opportunity. Cap rates have increased from 5.1 percent in the second quarter of 2022 to between 5.5 percent and 6.5 percent in the second quarter of 2023. Office lease absorption is down, though we’re still seeing a lot of interest in Boise. Micron, a $66 billion semiconductor company founded …
— By Andrea Nilson, Executive Director of Retail and Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield — National attention has been focused on the business growth, expansion and innovation in the Mountain West region in recent years — and Boise continues to be the region’s bright spot. Recognized as one of the best places to live and work due to its educated population and outdoor lifestyle, the area remains at to top of retailers’ site selection lists. Boise has also become a city of choice for restaurants, which has pushed the market to a new level of maturity and refinement. A strong blend of national chains, as well as regional and local restauranteurs, are anchoring several of the large, high-density apartment developments downtown, making this core truly unique and vibrant. The retail market remains on an upward trajectory based on key indicators. Low levels of speculative construction and strong demand will likely contribute to lower vacancy and higher rents for the remainder of 2023. Demand has outpaced supply by 30 percent over the previous 15 months. Boise was ranked No. 3 in annual population growth nationwide at 2.2 percent. It is projected to increase further, while its economy expanded at a rate of 3.4 …
— By Dan Minnaert, Partner and Industrial Specialist, TOK Commercial Real Estate — Industrial leasing activity has slowed year over year in Southern Idaho markets with total transactions down 9 percent. However, all markets saw transactions increase or remain flat from the first quarter to the second quarter. Net absorption has also remained positive in all markets throughout the first half of 2023. Activity is strongest in the Boise MSA with nearly 900,000 square feet of net absorption recording so far this year. Top deals for the year include Ferguson Enterprises leasing 164,600 square feet of new construction in Nampa, and Hensel Phelps Construction leasing 92,900 square feet at 535 Gowen in South Boise. Demand remains strongest for spaces in the 1,000- to 5,000-square-foot range, accounting for 51 percent of deals over the past 12 months. However, absorbed spaces above 15,000 square feet have increased 15 percent year over year. In addition, organic growth is the top driver for leasing activity considering 30 percent of deals over the past year were attributed to tenants opening additional locations or expanding. Additional new industrial tenants are expected to enter Southern Idaho, most notably in the Boise MSA as new projects such …
— By Colton Yasinski, Investment Sales Advsor, Capstone Cos. — The multifamily market in Idaho and, specifically, Boise, has experienced an impressive surge over the past five years. This has largely been fueled by the impact of COVID and the attractiveness of Idaho living. The result has been an unprecedented demand for multifamily housing, triggering a development boom that has reshaped the market landscape. In the past year alone, Boise has seen the delivery of 4,000 multifamily units with numerous ongoing construction projects. The city’s rapid population growth and robust housing demand has attracted institutional capital, leading to tighter cap rates similar to larger metropolitan areas. Pioneering developers have recognized the potential in Idaho’s market and entered the scene alongside local development groups. Among them are prominent names like Lincoln Property Company, Alliance Residential Company, Woodside Homes, Morgan Stonehill, American Homes 4 Rent and others shaping the multifamily landscape. However, amidst this growth, market dynamics have started to shift. Over the past year, multifamily sales in Boise have declined by more than 70 percent, accompanied by rising cap rates due to fluctuations in the capital markets. The surge in new units has transitioned the market from favoring landlords to becoming …
By Chris Pearson, Industrial Specialist, TOK Commercial Idaho remains a prime area for industrial growth in 2022, with nearly 180 deals completed across Southern Idaho’s top markets. Activity is strongest in the Boise MSA as more than 1.2 million square feet of net absorption has been recorded so far in 2022. This is up from 1.1 million square feet at the end of June 2021. Top deals for the year include Federated Ordinance leasing 265,200 square feet of new construction in Caldwell, as well as Amazon leasing 141,400 square feet in North Meridian. Overall industrial vacancy has remained low across Idaho. Total vacancy in the Boise area has been below 1.5 percent over the past 12 months. It currently sits at 1.2 percent. Vacancy is slightly higher in the Magic Valley & Eastern Idaho MSAs, with total vacancy above 2.5 percent in both markets. However, total vacancy in Idaho Falls, the largest market in Eastern Idaho, hit a historic low of 1.3 percent in June. Vacancy is also at a record low in Twin Falls, the Magic Valley’s main industrial hub, which is currently at just 0.2 percent. Based on vacancy alone, supply appears to lag behind demand. This should not remain the case for …
By Brandon Rawlins, Principal Broker, and Bronson Rawlins, Retail Lead and Associate, JLL Like much of the country, the Idaho retail market is seeing a strong rebound in various retail sectors that appeal to the return of social gatherings and a hybrid approach to work life. Moreover, experiential retail is making a strong comeback as consumers crave fun and a return to normalcy. According to JLL’s recent Retail Outlook report, retail fundamentals continue to improve across most of the country, but particularly in the Sunbelt states. Shoppers are heading back to stores, moviegoers are going back to the theaters, and new demand for fun and immersive experiences is on the rise. The Boise area is no exception, with the announcement of several new major players, including Top Golf, Scheels and several mixed-use concepts that appeal to the new hybrid work experience that combines food, shopping and residential. Eatertainment concepts — entertainment with an emphasis on food and beverage — saw a national traffic surge of 22 percent from April 2019 levels and more than 36 percent year over year. Interestingly, retail activity is not just taking place in certain submarkets or neighborhoods; there is strong activity throughout the entire state. The impact of these developments will bring new tenants …
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