Market Reports

Why Specialty Fitness Centers Are Enjoying a Healthy Run in Chicago

by Christina Cannon June 23, 2016

Today we have a choice in virtually every retail segment, and choosing a place for your favorite workout is no different. Specialty health clubs are a growing trend in Chicago, ranging from cycling at Flywheel or SoulCycle to high-impact cardio and weights at Shred415, Orange Theory or Barry’s Boot Camp. You can take ballet-inspired classes at Pure Barre, The Bar Method, Daily Method or The Barre Code, or yoga at Core Power Yoga, Yoga Six or Yoga By Degrees. You can even take rowing classes at GO Row or practice wake boarding with ChicagoSUP. But classes are not cheap, ranging from $20 to $30 per visit to unlimited yearlong memberships for $1,900. Despite the high price tag, these types of workouts are increasingly popular. While a full-service health club offers much more than just one type of workout, specialty fitness does just that — it specializes. Unique features These fitness classes focus on just one exercise, making the classes more challenging and better with teachers who are experts. They also provide different levels of classes compared with a gym, which may only offer one yoga, weight or spin class. Specialty fitness spaces are smaller than a full-service health club, but …

June 23, 2016

Illinois Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office Uncategorized

Market Conditions Ripe for Office Acquisitions by Single-Tenant Users

by Christina Cannon June 16, 2016

Across the country, and specifically in the Chicago corridor that leads to the northwestern suburbs, a wide range of businesses are debunking the commonly held notion that urban migration is diminishing the suburban marketplace. The evidence is indisputable. While Fortune 500 firms are leasing hundreds of thousands of square feet in Chicago’s suburbs, small to midsize firms are facilitating the expansion of their businesses by acquiring single-tenant facilities in the burbs as well. Since 2014, 20 businesses in Chicago’s northwest suburbs have acquired buildings totaling more than 1.3 million square feet of space, according to Colliers International. The cumulative purchase price of these assets exceeds $97.1 million. This level of activity compares favorably to statistics for the entire suburban marketplace that show 63 buildings totaling approximately 4.7 million square feet and valued in excess of $307.7 million were sold during that time (see table). Four driving factors This healthy level of activity can be attributed to a variety of factors, four of which we highlight in this piece. • Access to capital — Banks are lending again and exhibiting greater levels of caution after years of retreating to the sidelines. Additionally, the cost of capital is very reasonable, in spite …

June 16, 2016

Illinois Industrial Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Uncategorized

Don’t Expect Metro Chicago’s Industrial Boom to Tail Off Anytime Soon

by Christina Cannon June 9, 2016

The Chicago industrial market continues its charge full steam ahead in 2016, driven by strong fundamentals, our diverse economy, intense investor demand and constrained development. After a strong first quarter, the second quarter seems to be keeping pace. Demand remains high and continues to outpace new construction. We will also see more new projects announced as developers see continued success with existing projects. At the end of the first quarter, the overall vacancy rate in metro Chicago was slightly over 7 percent, down 10 basis points from the end of 2015, according to CoStar Group. All of the major submarkets posted vacancy rates of 10.1 percent or lower. Robust leasing activity Positive absorption in the first quarter was approximately 3.4 million square feet. Chicago has seen positive absorption every year since 2011, and this year looks to be headed in the same direction. The most active submarkets of O’Hare, I-55 and I-80 recorded vacancy rates of approximately 4.8 percent, 7.4 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively. Vacancy rates in those submarkets will continue to improve as speculative development is gobbled up as quickly as it is built, and existing product continues to get leased up. The I-80 and I-55 submarkets alone …

June 9, 2016

Hospitality Illinois Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports

Is the Current Bull Run for Chicago’s Hotel Sector Nearing an End?

by Christina Cannon February 4, 2016

The hotel industry has gained momentum over the last few years, with impressive increases in revenue per available room (RevPAR) and a continuing development boom in virtually all major markets across the Midwest and the nation. In the Chicago hotel market, RevPAR increased 7.2 percent in 2014 on a year-over-basis, according to STR Inc., and RevPAR was up 7.7 percent through the first 11 months of 2015. With consumer demand so strong and the development pipeline quite active, it might feel like the challenges of the last recession are long in the past. The reality, however, is that in a cyclical market the next downturn is never too far away. There are some indications that the ride may be slowing down and that the good times the region and the industry have enjoyed in recent years may be coming to an end. Oversupply Concerns While Chicago’s construction pipeline is smaller than a number of other metropolitan areas, it is the Windy City’s most robust development pipeline in recent memory. In aggregate, there will be a 20 percent increase in the room supply over three years. That could easily balloon to 25 percent with projects recently announced. This is very likely …

February 4, 2016

Illinois Industrial Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports

Dynamic O’Hare Industrial Submarket Regains Its Beat on Development Front

by Haisten Willis June 18, 2015

Chicago’s 1.2 billion-square-foot industrial market has weathered the Great Recession and is now showing strong growth through expansion of the region’s traditional boundaries and by way of redevelopment in land-locked areas. At the center of this trend is O’Hare International Airport — sixth in the nation and 17th in the world in air cargo tonnage. All totaled, the O’Hare industrial submarket contains 103 million square foot of product. Since the vacancy rate peaked at approximately 13 percent in 2010, the O’Hare industrial submarket has rebounded in a big way. In fact, the submarket has recorded positive absorption every year since 2011. The vacancy rate fell to 7 percent in 2014 due to an improving economy and the aggressive deal making of the larger industrial owners such as Prologis, KTR and Hamilton Partners. Development Ramps Up Shrinking vacancy rates and a lack of available Class A logistics facilities led to the delivery of multiple speculative developments in 2014. These projects were the first built since 2007. Panattoni completed 208,000 square feet at 1925 Busse Road in Elk Grove Village and leased the entire facility to CEVA Logistics. The project was subsequently sold to AEW Capital Management at a record-setting cap rate …

June 18, 2015

Illinois Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Retail

Several Factors Keeping Retail Construction in Check Across Metro Chicago

by Danielle Everson March 5, 2015

Mid-America Real Estate’s annual Chicagoland Shopping Center Report shows construction completions totaled 2.4 million square feet in 2014, a slight uptick from the 2.26 million square feet completed in 2013. Looking ahead, 2015 should yield a little over 2 million square feet, which will likely prove to be within the normal range for development going forward. However, this is significantly less than the 8.3 million square feet completed in 2007. One of the primary causes of this decline is the demand for new shopping center space in the suburbs is primarily limited to single users, predominately grocery stores. While the demand for multi-tenant retail developments in urban markets remains high, the barriers to entry are significant. Consider, for example, that of the combined 26 new projects delivered in 2014 and planned for 2015, only one project, Regency Centers’ Shops on Main in Schererville, Indiana, is a suburban project built to accommodate more than one big-box retailer. Anchored by Gordmans, Shops on Main is also home to DSW, Home Goods, Ross, Pier 1 Imports and a planned Whole Foods. All of the remaining suburban projects are limited to single users such as Walmart/Sam’s Club, Target, Mariano’s or Meijer. The mid-sized boxes …

March 5, 2015

Illinois Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office Retail

Chicago’s Suburban Commercial Real Estate Sector Proves Its Mettle Once Again

by Danielle Everson February 4, 2015

Here’s the Chicago commercial real estate market’s big secret: the suburbs never went away. While it’s true that office vacancy rates hit the high 20s in 2008, the truth is that suburban absorption never faltered. In early 2014, Savills Studley reviewed all office leasing transactions from 2010 to 2013, a recessionary period for the sector. The analysis revealed that of the nearly 7.4 million square feet of deals tracked, nearly three-quarters of the moves (5 million square feet) involved tenants moving from one suburb to another. Compare that trend to the relocations from the suburbs to the city, which totaled approximately 1.8 million square feet during the same period. The exodus of companies like Hillshire Brands and Motorola Mobility from the suburbs made it seem like the city was the only place to be for high-growth firms. The analysis also showed that firms moving from out of town to the area went to the suburbs rather than the city by a factor of more than 2 to 1: 385,000 square feet versus 160,000 square feet. So, it’s no surprise that the suburban Chicago office market ended 2014 with the lowest vacancy rate since 2008. The 22.6 percent vacancy rate in …

February 4, 2015

Illinois Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports

Chicago’s Downtown Office Market Enjoys Blockbuster Summer of Activity

by admin August 13, 2014

Three staggering announcements highlighted downtown Chicago’s office sector during the second and early third quarter as investors jockeyed to get a piece of a market that has been the beneficiary of the tech boom. The CBD office vacancy rate is now at its lowest level in five years — 14.1 percent — aided by downtown net absorption of 592,328 square feet during the second quarter, the most in nearly seven years, according to CBRE Group. Asking rents in the city have risen 3.9 percent over the past year. There have been seven sales of more than $300 million since October 2013, including the deal that will come to define downtown Chicago for a long time to come — the disposition of 300 N. LaSalle St. to Newport Beach, Calif.-based The Irvine Company for $850 million in May. The purchase price equals $654 per square foot for the 60-story trophy tower. To put that figure into context, consider that KBS Realty Advisors LLC paid a then-record $503 per square foot for the building in 2010 to Hines Interests LP. So why did 300 N. LaSalle fetch a record price? There are a few reasons. First, the tower is 97 percent leased …

August 13, 2014

Illinois Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports

Employment Gains Have Positive Effect on Springfield, Ill. Property Markets

by admin July 18, 2014

When we read or hear about economic recovery, whether it is regarding commercial real estate or a different sector of the economy, so often the perspectives and projections we hear are on a national, or even global, scale. Unfortunately, such analyses can result in a picture of the economy that seems like it was taken with a wide-angle lens. Typically, commercial real estate activity in larger cities will not be representative of tertiary markets like Springfield, Ill. The big picture can give a distorted view of the health of our local economy here in Springfield. Dr. Peter Linneman, chief economist for NAI Global, says that employment levels in America have recovered to nearly pre-recession levels and that many of the jobs created during the recovery have been semi-skilled jobs, rather than minimum-wage jobs. The jobs recovery is especially meaningful for the housing industry, and multifamily in particular. New home construction is expected to be on a gradual rise in Springfield during the next two to three years. Most everyone knows that small business is the main staple for job creation, yet government handouts and subsidies are funneled to the largest banks in America, and there the money sits instead of …

July 18, 2014

Illinois Market Reports Midwest Market Reports

Apartment Development Activity Ramps Up Across Suburban Chicago

by admin April 7, 2014

More than 9.5 million people live in the Chicago area, making it the third most populous metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the country. Like many other markets in the Midwest and Northeast, the ongoing population shift from north to south in the United States continues to pose a challenge. Consequently, population growth during the next five years in Chicago is projected to lag behind the national average. The good news is that Chicago employers are expected to generate the largest job growth locally in 15 years in 2014. Indeed, Marcus & Millichap forecasts a net gain of 79,900 jobs this year, a 1.8 percent annual increase. If realized, this would top 2013’s 1.7 percent expansion. The increased job creation is expected to attract new residents to the region, boosting population. During the past decade, the western suburbs have recorded the largest population gains, especially in Aurora, Naperville and Joliet. Renewed urbanism is playing a major role in growth within the city of Chicago, as young professionals and empty nesters return to the urban core. An influx of young workers and an exodus of retirees have lowered the median age in the metro to 36.1 years, which is below the national …

April 7, 2014

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