Retail business continues to be solid in greater Salt Lake City. Total net absorption in all retail categories doubled, when compared to 2012. High-end retail in regional centers saw a 20 percent increase in rents to $24.50 per square foot. Retail inventory increased to a little more than 1 million square feet in 2013 as well. Significant growth areas include new retail in the eclectic Sugarhouse area, the southwest portion of Salt Lake County and the 5600 West corridor. New development also took place in the Central Business District of Salt Lake City. Shadow retail near the new City Creek Mall is fostering some of the Central Business District activity as well. Utah’s excellent light and commuter rails have spurred retail and commercial developments alongside their routes through four counties. Examples include a redevelopment project at Fairbourne Station in West Valley City and the expansion of Vista Station in Salt Lake County. Vista Station is a mixed-use development that is anchored by eBay. Many grocery tenants also have expansion plans for 2014 and 2015. WinCo, Harmon’s, WalMart Neighborhood Grocery, Whole Foods, Sprouts and others all either have plans or are underway with new projects. Large and mid-box retailers are very …
Market Reports
Momentum in the industrial market has remained strong for the past three years. This momentum should continue through 2014. Total market activity for 2013 generally remained on par with a record-setting year from 2012, but the makeup of that activity changed significantly. On a square footage basis, leasing activity decreased by 25.6 percent, while user-sale activity increased by 117.3 percent. Much of the increase in user-sale activity can be attributed to Boeing’s acquisition of the 850,000-square-foot Kraftmade building. Strong activity in the market led to more than 2.5 million square feet of positive absorption, representing the highest level of annual absorption since 2007 and exceeding the absorption of the past four years combined. This high level of positive absorption pushed overall vacancy rates down by 1.6 percentage points to end the year at 7.4 percent. As vacancy rates have declined, achieved rental rates have increased by 8.1 percent. The greatest increase was seen in spaces with more than f 100,000 square feet where rental rates increased by 14.7 percent. This category accounted for more than 40 percent of total market activity. The expansion of e-commerce continues to leave its mark on the development and functionality of buildings. E-commerce accounted for …
Technology growth in the southern portion of the Salt Lake Valley is prompting additional development of multifamily properties. A new Adobe campus in Lehi, located between Utah’s major employment areas, has led to further technology sector investment in this region. The company expansions and job creation that is occurring in Lehi is certainly driving the need for new housing. In Bluffdale, located about 20 miles south of Salt Lake City, several hundred acres are being developed into two mixed-use apartment projects. The recently acquired Aclaime at Independence development is expected to include 1,000 residential units and 21 acres designated for mixed-use commercial structures. Adjacent to this development is Independence at the Point, a master-planned community containing 294 acres. This project will include 1,900 single-family homes, townhomes and apartments, as well as 27 acres of commercial development. Overall, steady demand for housing will continue to draw investors and developers to the region as vacancy remains limited and rent growth outpaces the rest of the metro. Metro employers are expected to add 29,900 new jobs by the end of 2013, an annual growth of 4.6 percent, which pushes employment nearly 6 percent above the pre-recession peak. Completions are set to total 2,100 …
National retailers have slowed their progress into the market now that City Creek and Fashion Place Mall have completed the majority of their renovations. The discount segment continues to expand in infill locations along the Wasatch Front. Ross, TJ Maxx and Marshalls continue to lead the charge in this category, with Rue 21 and Dress Barn as the larger tenants. Rural areas are the new frontier within the State of Utah. Many small communities are riding the wave of the energy boom, from natural gas, oil and wind power. These smaller towns are growing at a rapid pace, and with the influx of expendable income, retailers are flocking to these areas. The challenge that many developers face in these towns, however, is the lower rent numbers that national tenants can afford due to the immediate lack of population within the trade areas. Ross, JoAnn Fabrics, Petco, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Sports Authority, Rue 21 and Dress Barn are the retailers that lead the charge in these areas. The grocery sector continues its movement within the state, with Walmart’s Neighborhood Market, Sprouts and Smith’s being the most active. Smith’s is in the process of remodeling many of its existing locations and is looking …
Much like the economy in general, commercial real estate has experienced its share of ups and downs over the past 10 years. However, the strength of Utah’s economy, established infrastructure and strategic regional location are sustaining the Salt Lake industrial market and securing its position as one of the most resilient in the nation. For three consecutive years, Utah has been ranked as the “Best State for Business” by Forbes magazine. It was also recently designated as a boom state by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The strength of the local economy has convinced many national and international companies to relocate to Utah, and new construction has followed close behind. By the end of the first quarter of 2013, there were 1.4 million square feet of industrial space under construction, 70 percent of which was pre-leased. Although overall market activity slowed during that quarter, as compared to 2012, the Salt Lake market continues to experience growth. Consequently, industrial availability remains below the average for the Western region. Another sign of market strength is the improvement in lease rates. Utah’s industrial market experienced increasing lease rates and positive net absorption. In fact, from March 2012 to March 2013, the overall achieved …
The demand for quality office space in Salt Lake City is higher than ever. According to Forbes, Utah’s economy continues to lead the nation, and more employers are looking to expand into the Salt Lake market. Large companies like eBay, Adobe and Boeing are setting up shop along the Wasatch Front, and more corporations will be coming soon. Several new Salt Lake office projects are in the planning stages, while others have already broken ground. With lower vacancy rates in Class A and B spaces, new developments — which vary from build-to-suit to spec projects — are encouraging. Overall Class B and C rates are hovering between 15 percent and 17 percent and inching downward as 2013 progresses, according to Newmark Grubb Acres’ research. Valley-wide, Class A properties are averaging about 11 percent, and will likely level off until more product is built. A big change is currently taking place in the office market. The past few years have been predominantly tenant-driven, but trends now show a decrease in generous landlord incentives. Property owners who were previously given four to six weeks of annual free rent may now only receive two to four weeks. Landlords are also looking at tenant …
The Salt Lake office market will hopefully continue to improve throughout the next year. At the end of the third quarter, overall direct vacancy rates were 13.6 percent, down from the 14.9 percent rate recorded this time last year. Overall asking lease rates for the same period have also seen a slight increase of 41 cents per square foot to the now average asking lease rate of $19.92 per square foot, per year, full service. Although a healthy appetite for Class A office space has dropped vacancy rates in this category to below 10 percent, Class B space lags behind with vacancy rates close to 17 percent as of the end of the third quarter. There has been considerable buzz around the Downtown submarket, due mostly to the new City Creek retail center that was estimated to cost $1.5 billion. The project was developed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affiliate City Creek Reserve, in collaboration with their partner Taubman Centers. The retail complex is located in the core of Salt Lake’s CBD and came online in March of this year. Despite this unique development, vacancy rates remain high in this submarket. Overall direct vacancy rates for …
The Greater Salt Lake City multifamily market has continued to strengthen during 2012. Vacancy rates have steadily improved, dropping from 5.3 percent in January 2012 down to 4.2 percent in the third quarter of 2012. With the market vacancy tightening, average rent growth was 3.6 percent from mid-year 2011 to mid-year 2012. The average rent per unit is now at an all-time high of $802 per unit — eclipsing the average rental price of $771 per unit in early 2008. Many factors contributed to the positive rent growth and the contraction of vacancy rates, but the most significant were strong job growth and population growth. Utah’s job growth currently ranks fourth in the country at 2.6 percent, adding more than 32,000 jobs over the past 12 months. Utah’s job market is strengthening as the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 6 percent in June 2012, the lowest it has been since March 2009, according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services. The state also has the third fastest-growing population in the nation with nearly 2 percent annual growth. Utah also has the youngest median age in the country at 29.2 years, and the largest average house-hold size of 3.1 persons. These …
Salt Lake City is progressing through a healthy apartment sector recovery as large developments near completion and major employers ramp up hiring efforts. The opening of the 700,000-square-foot City Creek Center in Downtown Salt Lake City brings upscale retailers such as Nordstrom, Tiffany & Co. and Brooks Brothers to the state, generating a number of retail jobs. More than 4,000 positions are expected to be added in 2012 in the trade, transportation and utilities sectors, which includes retail workers. With elevated gas prices, many of these employees will seek rental housing near work, including residences at the 125-unit Providence Place, which was completed in the central Salt Lake City submarket this year. In addition, more than 800 apartments and 775 condos are in the planning stages in this submarket. In outlying areas like West Jordan, which have received the bulk of new development over the past five years, slower construction activity is allowing demand to catch up. The fourth-quarter completion of the Adobe campus in Lehi should boost demand for apartments in the Orem area as the company is expected to employ 1,000 staffers at the site. Looking at fundamentals, the development pipeline in Salt Lake City is among the …
Salt Lake City’s retail market will post modest occupancy growth through year’s end, though performance will vary considerably by location, as weak housing conditions weigh heavily on parts of the metro. For example, many shopping centers in the Midvale/Sandy/Southeast, Southwest and Weber and Davis counties submarkets, which were home to significant residential and retail construction during the housing boom, will post vacancy in the mid-teens this year. While weakness will persist until the housing market enters a formidable recovery, outer suburbs may offer strong long-term growth opportunities, particularly in the south, as the final leg of Trax extends from Sandy to Draper. In the near term, however, close-in submarkets will outperform. In the South Central area, which experienced limited construction ahead of the recession, vacancy will hover around 5.5 percent. Within the submarket, discount stores, such as Savers, Goodwill and Dollar Tree, along with fitness centers, have started to backfill vacant spaces, taking advantage of discounted rents. Investors will seek healthy returns in Salt Lake City, though limited for-sale inventory will hamper velocity. Private buyers, mostly from Utah or the Western region, will favor performing strip centers and smaller single-tenant deals, such as fast food and drugstore assets, along with …