Market Reports

The Nashville commercial real estate market’s growth is no longer a local secret. In fact, it very well may be one of the most desired areas for investors for an MSA with a population less than 2.5 million people. In case you haven’t heard, read or taken notice, you likely have been living under a rock. Those who call this market “hot” are making an understatement. As the downtown core sees land sites trade in excess of $13 million per acre (and in a few interesting cases eclipse $1,000 per square foot), the multifamily and hospitality markets have moved at a torrid pace. Even office rents have climbed to record highs near $40 per square foot for full service gross rates. Some covering that sector project this number will peak around the $50 per square foot mark due, in part, to the higher land costs driven by the other sectors. Multifamily developers have seized upon this growth by paying record prices for downtown real estate in hopes of capturing the fancy of Millennials as they enter the workforce. Top this off with hotel stays in downtown costing as much as those found on Times Square in Manhattan, some ponder the …

To say 2015 was a good year for the Memphis industrial market would be an understatement. The Memphis market, which comprises approximately 220 million square feet spread across seven submarkets and three states (Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas), set a new record in 2015 with absorption exceeding 8.4 million square feet. This total is nearly double what the market recorded in 2014 and an impressive 2 million square feet more than the record set in 2006. Vacancy also dipped into single-digit territory for the first time ever, falling below the 10 percent mark to a new record low of 9.8 percent. Vacancy fell 370 basis points in 2015 alone, the most significant year-over-year vacancy decrease in market history. The market’s central U.S. location, quadra-modal transportation infrastructure (river, road, runway and rail) and abundant labor force are just a few of the benefits that make it an ideal location for distribution tenants. A total of 18 Class A deals were completed in 2015 by notable companies like Nike, Post, Cummins, Dayco Products, AmerisourceBergen, T.J. Maxx and Coca-Cola, to name a few. Class A buildings made up 6.3 million square feet, or 75 percent, of total absorption. There were five deals north of …

Beretta, Nissan, General Motors, Electrolux and Hankook Tire are a few manufacturing giants that call Middle Tennessee home. Expanding the manufacturing presence throughout 2015, 29 advanced manufacturing companies announced relocations or expansions in Middle Tennessee. Of that total, six companies revealed plans to create a combined 710 jobs and occupy more than 1 million square feet during the fourth quarter of 2015 alone. Nashville’s central location, skilled workforce and labor cost advantages continue to make the market a magnet for manufacturing companies. Unsurprisingly, in its Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2016 report, Urban Land Institute named Nashville the “No. 7 U.S. Market to Watch for 2016” and an “18-Hour City.” Additionally, Nashville’s low cost of doing business and consistent job and population growth favor the industrial market, and the pipeline for talent across all multiple industries remains full. Nashville’s industrial market is firing on all cylinders — with record low vacancy rates and historically high rents, which is driving robust speculative warehouse development. Interestingly, a new trend is occurring that is breaking the paradigms of traditional industrial space use — the appearance of the maker economy. These “makers” are modern, small-scale manufacturers that “are emerging as a revitalizing force in …