The Charlotte MSA continues to experience a high level of retail activity as we go into the last quarter of 2015. With a regional inventory of 62 million square feet of retail space, the MSA has seen more than 8 million square feet of new development proposed. Vacancy rates are holding steady in the 8 to 9 percent range, and average rents have remained stable. Grocers Setting the Pace Retail development activity in the Charlotte area remains driven by grocery store expansion. Publix has opened units in Ballantyne, Matthews, Southeast Charlotte and, most recently, South End, with several new stores approved and in various stages of development. Some of the Publix activity has resulted from conversions of units it acquired from Bi-Lo, while the Ballantyne, Fort Mill and South End stores were new construction projects. Publix will open five more stores in the market in the coming year, bringing its MSA store count to 16. This will include Publix’s first stores in the Cabarrus County and Gaston County markets. Perennial market leader Harris Teeter remains the dominant traditional grocer in Charlotte with a 20 percent market share, which places it, Walmart and Food Lion in close proximity. Harris Teeter, which …
As Charlotte’s job growth has returned, so has traffic into Uptown during rush hour, a new apartment project on every corner, healthy single-family demand and a food fight. Currently there is an all-out war for grocery market share between behemoths Harris Teeter, Publix and Walmart Neighborhood Market, all adding stores at a record rate, while Whole Foods Market continues to expand within the market on a measured basis. Newcomers Sprouts Farmers Market and Lidl, a German-based supermarket grocer offering discount items, are set to make market entries between 2016 to 2018, with Food Lion planning to refurbish a number of their stores in the market. Pappas Properties has begun construction on a Harris Teeter at Berewick and Raley Miller in a joint venture with Levine Properties, and has filed a rezoning petition to add another Harris Teeter at the corner of Fairview and Providence. Harris Teeter has recently added a store in Cornelius, as has Publix. Publix has recently opened a new store in the booming South End submarket located along the transit line on South Boulevard and has won zoning approval for a store to be constructed at Cotswold. A grocer is also rumored to be scouting a redevelopment …
Lately, Charlotte seems to have more of everything: jobs, residents, young people — all of which has driven more demand for quality multifamily properties in urban neighborhoods with multiple lifestyle amenities. Renters’ desire for parks, transit options and walkable access to work, culture, and entertainment has led Charlotte’s Uptown/South End region to become the fastest-growing apartment submarket in the nation, according to a study by MPF Research. Since the recession, Uptown/South End has experienced a period of remarkable growth in the multifamily market, and has seen an 82 percent increase in units since 2012, the study says. Overall, renter-occupied units make up just over two-fifths, or 40 percent, of the city’s housing market, a percentage that is already higher than the national average and anticipated to increase. As more properties are built, Charlotte’s 5.1 percent vacancy rate is likely to increase over the long term, but demand is expected to remain strong as the city’s dynamic economy and population continue to grow. The area’s population is set to increase about 2 percent annually over the next five years, far outpacing the country’s overall rate of 0.75 percent. Much of that is due to an influx of well-educated, younger people moving …
The Charlotte industrial market is extremely well-regarded by most national investors, with consistent rent growth, strong occupancy and increasing values. The fourth quarter of 2014 revealed the third-highest annual net absorption ever recorded in the Charlotte industrial market, continuing a pattern of growth that began in the fourth quarter of 2010. This continued recovery can be directly attributed to a combination of restrained development, expansions by existing space users, an influx of new companies and increased economic stability. Due primarily to geographic constraints and a high demand for land by all types of developers, there is a limited supply of large tracts suitable for industrial developments, which protects the value of existing properties. Air Support Industrial tenants are drawn to Charlotte for its strategic location along I-85 between Atlanta and the Mid-Atlantic states, as well as proximity to the Carolinas, southern Virginia and eastern Tennessee. Quality buildings are available at competitive prices in the region. Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) continues to be a significant economic development driver, and Charlotte’s distribution network will be further enhanced by Norfolk Southern’s intermodal terminal recently completed on 230 acres adjacent to CLT. The terminal will include two loading tracks totaling 9,056 feet, eight …
It’s no secret that the Sunbelt states have been, and continue to be, the front-runners for corporations looking to relocate to cities with a much lower cost of doing business. With each state taking different approaches, North Carolina does not often offer the relocation incentives that can be found in states such as South Carolina and Texas. Instead, North Carolina favors a system that offers less up-front cash incentives, but tries to offset that with a tax structure and business-friendly climate in an effort to compete for the large, attractive relocations. Because of this, the catalyst for growth in Charlotte has only been moderately associated with the recruitment of out-of-market users looking to relocate headquarters to more affordable and attractive markets. In large part, Charlotte’s growth has been driven by organic growth of existing businesses. In fact, more than 70 percent of the positive absorption in the central business district (CBD) since 2010 has occurred through organic growth. This expansion of existing business has provided for employment growth conditions that work hand-in-hand with the rapidly swelling population. In between new-to-market relocations that provide headline-grabbing bursts of employment, the diverse and impressive growth of Charlotte’s existing companies has attracted talent and …
As 2015 begins, the Raleigh-Durham market continues to see heavy investment and development interest in the multifamily sector. Strong fundamentals, including an influx of young professionals lured by healthy job growth, an emergent live-work-play atmosphere and an economy that has continued to outpace its national counterpart, justify the area’s reign as one of the most attractive non-gateway markets in the country. The healthy, long-term fundamentals are challenged by an apartment construction pipeline that is among the nation’s most active, but so far the market is performing remarkably well. Construction starts in the area have exploded during the last two years, and there are now 8,835 units under construction throughout the Triangle area, with an additional 4,919 units proposed, according to Real Data. Whether demand can keep up with supply has been a widely debated topic among real estate analysts. The high number of units delivered represents an increase in supply of 9.3 percent over the past 24 months. Strong demand has shielded the region from notable occupancy declines. In the first half of 2014, 2,453 units were absorbed and 2,642 new units were completed, providing a differential of only 189 units, according to Real Data. Average vacancy ticked up to …
The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill (Research Triangle) region has entered a period of vibrant market expansion. Overall Class A vacancy has fallen below 10 percent for the first time since the building boom of 2001, with rates as low as 2.2 percent in some of the region’s most desirable submarkets, where severe shortages have absorption extending into long-stagnant Class B product. Despite this auspicious environment for new construction, developers are still exercising substantial caution, underscoring the depth of the last downturn and its long-lasting impact on both the development and lending communities. However, recent successful Class A deliveries by REITs like Raleigh-based Highwoods Properties and Indianapolis-based Duke Realty signal a shift toward a more pronounced supply cycle, with lower pre-lease thresholds, and a Class A market that is clearly transitioning from a recovery cycle to a period of low supply. As the market picks up steam, here are three trends that we see emerging in the Raleigh-Durham office market, and the implications for the MSA going forward. The Rise of Live-Work-Play In the last decade, no trend has had a greater impact than the rise of the live-work-play model, a phrase that encapsulates many meanings, but always embodies the high value placed …
2014 was an exceptional year for sales and leasing activity for the Raleigh-Durham industrial market. Velocity in investment sales boomed in 2014 — the strongest year since 2006, and second strongest in history. Developers are actively seeking land to build new parks as demand for Class A industrial space outweighs supply and rental rates begin to rise. Although, the Raleigh-Durham MSA is a smaller industrial market in the region, it’s been ranked No. 1 by Forbes as the Best Place for Business and No. 2 for the Fastest Growing Large U.S. City from 2010-2030 by the United Nations Population Division. Companies continue to announce corporate relocations and expansions and unemployment is lower than the national average at 4.5 percent in October. EDM America relocated its $150 million headquarters operation to Raleigh from Pennsylvania. Argos Therapeutics announced an expansion project in Durham — a $57 million bio-manufacturing plant. The area has also seen an influx of third-party logistics companies, moving companies and suppliers for the home building industry opening new locations and consolidating to larger blocks of space. As user demand continues, there is a strong desire by investors to become a part of our market or expand their current footprint. …
The Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill Triangle has captured national attention as a powerhouse of innovation and economic growth for many years, winning a steady stream of accolades for growth, technology, entrepreneurial drive and quality of life. So it comes as no surprise that while some parts of the country are still limping along in what has been the longest and most tepid recovery in recent memory, the Triangle is booming. Indeed, it’s hard to find a metric that shows the region as anything less than thriving. The unemployment rate declined sharply over the past year, down over 2 percentage points from the first quarter of 2013 to 5.1 percent in April 2014, and the region has been adding jobs — more than 26,000 nonfarm jobs in the past four quarters and 7,700 in March 2014 alone. As a result, the region’s industrial market is rapidly accelerating. Raleigh-Durham has consistently placed in the top 10 fastest growing MSAs since 1980, and the Triangle’s industrial market is primarily geared toward providing goods and services for the burgeoning local population, ensuring that demand for institutional-grade industrial product remains strong. This dynamic has also created a tendency toward a high degree of diversification, and both factors …
As the first quarter of 2014 comes to a close, the biggest question mark facing the Charlotte market is whether or not it can handle the historically high supply levels. Despite nearly 3,500 units delivered over the past 12 months, vacancy has held steady, and rents have continued to grow by 2 to 3 percent. But with another 10,000 units under construction, Charlotte is at a critical juncture. With the pipeline at an all-time high and new projects being announced seemingly every week, will there be enough continued demand to absorb the next wave of deliveries? The ability to absorb the pending supply is largely based on the area’s favorable demographic trends and potential job growth. Between 2000 and 2010, Mecklenburg County’s population grew by 32 percent, over three times the national average, and that trend has continued with more than 7 percent growth since 2010, including the second-highest growth rate in the state from 2012 to 2013. Moreover, since 2010, Mecklenburg and Wake (Raleigh/Durham) counties have accounted for nearly half of the state’s overall population increase. That pattern mirrors a national trend of a growing desire to live in an urban environment. That paradigm shift is largely based on …