Market Reports

Louisville’s Bulk Industrial Development Pipeline Surges in 2022

by John Nelson October 4, 2022

With vacancy in Louisville’s industrial bulk market sitting at 1.7 percent, an increase of supply is sorely needed. Fortunately, plenty is on the way. At the halfway point of 2022, over 9.5 million square feet of bulk inventory is under construction, with approximately 4.8 million square feet slated for completion by year-end. Due to the demand for big box distribution warehouse space, which skyrocketed due to COVID-19 and the increase of online ordering and e-commerce fulfillment, absorption (12.9 million square feet) outpaced construction (9.9 million square feet) to the tune of 3 million square feet, and depleted vacancies in the process. Average asking rent increased from $4.79 per square foot to $5.26 in the second quarter and is up 26.7 percent from $4.15 at this time last year. This can mainly be attributed to overall increase in demand and increased construction costs. With nearly 5 million square feet of new speculative product hitting the market by year-end, coupled with recent completions of approximately 3 million square feet and 1.6 million square feet of sublease space expected to hit the market in the near future, deal rates are expected to steady and could potentially decrease as competition among landlords increases over …

October 4, 2022

Kentucky Market Reports Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Derby City Office Market Now Entering Full-On Recovery Mode

by John Nelson December 20, 2021

Louisville’s office market is certainly a representative example of a typical office market in a mid-sized city. As expected, Louisville experienced the impact of COVID-19 and the remote work trend. Downtown had to endure the social unrest during summer 2020 that created a perception of a lack of safety. Our community has work to do to get things back to “normal,” but things are slowly starting to move in the right direction. As has always been the case, the downtown and suburban markets face different trends. Typically, the suburban market has outperformed the central business district (CBD) with higher average rents and lower vacancy. Presently, the downtown Class A market has average rents in the $19.11 per square foot range and vacancy around 22 percent. The suburbs are seeing $22.16 per square foot in rent and 14.6 percent vacancy. Recently, the CBD posted 480 square feet of negative net absorption for the second quarter. After taking large hits throughout most of the pandemic, this looks to be a sign that downtown may finally be turning the corner. The suburban market took a big hit this past quarter due to vacancies and downsizing of two large companies. Even so, suburban markets …

December 20, 2021

Kentucky Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Booming Employment Continues to Drive Louisville’s Impressive Multifamily Market

by John Nelson December 13, 2021

Louisville’s multifamily market has long benefited from the city’s highly diversified employment base. With strongholds in distribution (boosted by the recent surge of e-commerce sales), manufacturing, healthcare and professional services, Louisville has rebounded from the pandemic-induced recession more quickly than much of the rest of the country. As of July 2021, the local unemployment rate was 4.5 percent, while the national rate was 5.4 percent. In addition to increased job growth, local employers are raising wages to attract top talent needed for expansion requirements. This wage growth, coupled with employment demand, has created a considerable advantage for multifamily property owners that have been able to push rental rates on an annual basis. Integra Realty Resources (IRR) reports that overall market vacancy is hovering at a low 4 percent. The combination of low vacancy rates and wage growth has allowed multifamily owners to increase rent structures. Landlords have seen high single-digit annual rent increases for the last four years in the Louisville MSA. Class A properties have been achieving rents approaching $2 per square foot for some unit types in luxury developments. IRR also reports that there are currently over 4,000 multifamily units planned or under construction in the Louisville MSA. …

December 13, 2021

Industrial Kentucky Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Louisville’s Central Location, UPS Presence Make it a Lock for Industrial Users

by Alex Tostado November 9, 2020

Louisville is best known for the Kentucky Derby, the premier thoroughbred horse race that has occurred every year in the city since 1875. However, there is another continuous streak that is happening in Louisville, and that is 21 straight quarters of positive net absorption for industrial real estate as of second-quarter 2020. Louisville’s central location within the Southeast and Midwest, which gives area users the ability to reach two-thirds of the U.S. population within a one-day drive, is a major driver for industrial real estate. The UPS Worldport Hub in Louisville is its only “all-points” hub in the UPS network and provides warehouse and distribution businesses with the ability to process orders later and receive earlier deliveries. This is a tremendous benefit for e-commerce, pharmaceutical, laboratory and electronics companies, among many other industries. There is continual interest from West Coast companies seeking a central location to fulfill product as customer demand for shorter delivery times increases as part of the overall customer experience. UPS Supply Chain Solutions, the third-party, full-service fulfillment subsidiary of UPS, has a significant presence in Louisville. Many of the customers for which UPS Supply Chain provides fulfillment services are pharmaceutical-related businesses that require time-critical deliveries and …

November 9, 2020

Kentucky Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Real Estate’s Holding Pattern is No Match for Louisville’s Top-Tier Potential

by Alex Tostado November 2, 2020

Much like the rest of the nation, both Louisville-area landlords and tenants are stalling while waiting for the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to become clear. The office market in Louisville has entered a holding pattern of sorts, while tenants evaluate their workspace needs in light of the major shift to remote work. Many are opting to wait and see what the market holds, a stark contrast to the steady development and leasing activity we saw in 2019. Now with investors taking a more long-term view of the market, larger portfolio sales are limited while everyone questions the future demand for office space. The most recent portfolio transfer was made by the New York-based Group RMC Corp. in its acquisition of a six-building, Class B office portfolio from locally based Ascent Properties for $44.5 million. The deal was traded at an 8.6 percent cap rate. However, don’t let the lull in activity fool you. The region’s office market is ripe with possibilities. While many local companies initially speculated about permanently adopting full-term remote work in the second quarter, they’re reconsidering as time goes on. Regional JLL research shows that 80 percent of businesses said most employees will eventually return …

November 2, 2020

Kentucky Market Reports Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Sports, Entertainment Venues Highlighting Louisville’s New Retail Wave

by Alex Tostado November 25, 2019

Home of the Louisville Slugger and Muhammad Ali, sports is engrained in the identity of Louisville. Derby City continues to make a big push to bring in an NBA team, but a different professional team is already in town. Louisville City FC, also known as LouCity, is Louisville’s professional soccer team. The club is not only a two-time champion of the USL, the team is now in the process of building a new $65 million stadium with seating for more than 13,000 spectators. Dubbed Lynn Family Stadium, the new arena will be the centerpiece of a 40-acre, $200 million mixed-use development in Louisville’s Butchertown neighborhood. Construction of the stadium is on schedule and should open for the 2020 season. The stadium will have amazing views, including the skyline of downtown Louisville and the waterfront area overlooking the Ohio River. The project should spur other retail, housing and offices to be constructed to revitalize Butchertown. Additional sports/entertainment is moving into Louisville’s malls as anchors. The vacant Sears location at Oxmoor Mall in the St. Matthews area will have Topgolf as a new anchor tenant. Topgolf has been working to come to Louisville for 18 months and was recently granted the approvals …

November 25, 2019

Kentucky Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports

New Multifamily Properties, Redevelopments Popping Up Around Metro Louisville

by Alex Tostado November 20, 2019

Louisville continues high occupancy levels throughout the metropolitan area in all apartment types as the market continues to enjoy record-level rent growth and new development. This is enhanced by low unemployment and rising wages throughout the Louisville metropolitan area. The diverse local economy from worldwide distribution at UPS and high-tech manufacturing at Ford Motor Co. and General Electric Appliance Park, as well as innovation in the medical industry, continue to provide high-paying jobs and a highly desirable employment base that can drive occupancy and rents for apartment owners in the Louisville metropolitan area. Integra Realty Resources reports an overall occupancy level of 96 percent for the Louisville metropolitan area, which has seen mid- to high-single-digit rent growth on an annual basis over the last three years. This high occupancy level and rental growth rate have attracted a number of new developments around the metropolitan marketplace. In 2018, there were 2,173 units completed and an additional 898 have been delivered in 2019 as of this writing. Most of the larger scale developments have been completed by regional developers such as Nashville-based Bristol Development and Indianapolis-based Cityscape Residential. Local development companies, such as Denton Floyd, LDG Development, Hagan Development and NTS Development, …

November 20, 2019

Industrial Kentucky Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

After Year of Record Industrial Leasing, Investors Zeroing in on Louisville

by Alex Tostado November 18, 2019

In 2018, Louisville saw a record year with more than 10 million square feet of net absorption in its industrial sector. This is a huge absorption number for any of the Midwest markets and represents more than three times Louisville’s previous record. Louisville was second only behind Chicago out of the Midwest markets tracked by CBRE. The absorption follows a record year for speculative construction as well, as close to 4 million square feet was delivered in 2018. User demand came from all sectors, including automotive, e-commerce, third-party logistics firms (3PLs), manufacturing and medical. Automotive and manufacturing were particularly strong performers. The more notable automotive and manufacturing transactions in 2018 were three Ford Motor Co. leases totaling more than 1 million square feet, as well as New Flyer’s 315,000-square-foot, $30 million transit bus and motorcoach parts fabrication facility in Bullitt County. Additionally, Denso leased 311,000 square feet in Southern Indiana and KCC opened another 224,000-square-foot plant to expand production capacity of its HVAC equipment line. Distribution remains strong in Louisville due to its central location and available workforce. According to a recent report from CBRE’s Labor Analytics Group, Louisville has the highest distribution labor score among the Midwest markets. As …

November 18, 2019

Industrial Kentucky Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Steady Demand, Available Labor Prepare Louisville’s Industrial Market for Success

by John Nelson December 2, 2018

Strong market performance has allowed the Louisville industrial market to recently post the highest quarter of positive net absorption in market history during the second quarter of 2018, which occurred on the heels of the second-highest quarter of positive net absorption recorded just one quarter earlier. This outcome has been the result of recent build-to-suit projects, the availability of quality product and growing demand by new and prospective tenants in the Louisville market. Beyond healthy supply and demand fundamentals, Louisville is achieving great balance with access to available labor along with low utility costs. Tenant Demand Picks Up There are currently over 20 active prospects considering 200,000 square feet or larger in the metro Louisville market. Much of this demand is attributed to the high level of activity at the two local Ford Motor Co. plants, as well as the proximity of the UPS Worldport, the 5.2 million-square-foot-core of UPS’s global air network located in the heart of metro Louisville. Along with the natural interest from companies in the automotive supply chain and e-commerce companies benefiting from the proximity to UPS, we have recently seen an increase in pharmaceutical and food-related companies considering Louisville for a location. Strong Labor Force …

December 2, 2018

Hospitality Kentucky Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Make it a Double: Entertainment, Hospitality Firms Invest Heavily in Louisville

by John Nelson November 26, 2018

The face of Louisville is changing rapidly, but it has leveraged what the state of Kentucky is historically known for best, bourbon. Louisville is a short drive from most of the legendary distilleries in the Commonwealth. However, the downtown Urban Bourbon Trail is booming with tourism and many brands actually distilling their spirits onsite. Jim Beam’s Urban Stillhouse, the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, Copper & Kings, Angel’s Envy Distillery and Rabbit Hole Distillery are locations where patrons can sample and buy their drink of choice and learn about the history of these companies and the evolution of the industry as a whole. Most recently in June, Brown-Forman Corp. opened its Old Forester Distilling Co. experience at the newly restored Whiskey Row on Main Street. The company is not only distilling and sharing its history at the site, but like others on the Urban Bourbon Trail there are areas to host receptions and parties. Duluth Trading opened next door on Whiskey Row late last year to begin to fill a growing need for retail space downtown. Convention Center, Hotels After two years being closed, earlier this month Louisville celebrated the reopening of the $207 million renovation and reconstruction of the Kentucky …

November 26, 2018

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