Strategically located within a day’s drive of 50 percent of the U.S. population, the Richmond metropolitan area has experienced immense growth driven by increased millennial demand, arterial connectivity, a pro-business environment, low cost of living and overall high quality of life, cementing its position as one of the leading Southeastern U.S. markets for employment and capital investment alike. The Richmond market’s strong trajectory is attracting interest from new to the market capital sources, including Brookwood Capital, TPA Group and Ashley Capital, as well as significant corporate investment from the likes of Dominion Energy, Kinsale Insurances and Altria Group. The industrial market in particular has seen robust growth with reported user demand doubling year over year to nearly 6 million square feet as of July 2019 — an all-time high according to Colliers International research. The strength of user demand has resulted in the market’s high bay vacancy rate receding to 5.6 percent and significant speculative and build-to-suit development, including Panattoni’s recently completed Virginia’s I-95 Logistics facility that was 100 percent preleased during construction to Brother International and Amazon. With no shortage of user demand, Richmond’s industrial market is expected to remain a highly desirable market to invest as noted in …
With easy access to the James River, hiking trails and a burgeoning culinary scene, the Richmond region has won numerous accolades for its quality of life. The city remains a top destination for college graduates and young professionals, as well as families and retirees. Apartment demand is fueled by both a growing millennial population and increasing number of empty-nesters who are downsizing. Renters continue to seek accessible apartment communities that are highly walkable with comfortable amenities. As a result, both urban and suburban markets are experiencing an influx of rental demand. The Richmond apartment market continues to experience rising rental rates and interest from out-of-town investors. Apartment rents in Richmond have increased every year since 2012 but remain relatively affordable. The average effective rent reached $1,113 per unit after increasing approximately 3.8 percent over the past 12 months. Accordingly, developers and investors have responded to the steady demand and continue to be bullish on the Richmond market, especially for apartments. There are currently more than 4,000 apartment units under construction, marking a post-recession peak for construction activity. Apartment sales have accounted for more than 50 percent of all commercial real estate transactions during the first half of 2019. Additionally, institutional …
Virginia’s capital city added more jobs in 2018 than in 2017 and 2016 combined. The addition of 11,000 jobs in 12 months aided a 7 percent population growth since 2010 and a median household income increase of $10,000 since 2016. With only 2.9 percent unemployed, residents now have more disposable income to shop. Richmond’s rapid growth brought vacancies to the lowest they’ve been in almost 15 years. At 4.7 percent, vacancy is near the cycle’s lowest trough of 4.5 percent in late 2005. Grocery store competition and limited speculative construction are driving down vacancies. In January, Food & Wine magazine published that Richmond was “Secretly the Supermarket Capital of America.” Publix’s takeover of Martin’s gave the Florida-based grocer a foothold, and new Publix stores are coming by the fourth quarter of 2019 in Westpark Shopping Center, Swift Creek and The Village Shopping Center. Kroger retains the highest market share despite operating only 18 stores compared to Food Lion’s 48. At last count, Aldi stores number 11, The Fresh Market four and Lidl six. With only two stores, however, Wegmans is the per-store average sales leader. Besides grocers, other expanding big box users include Launch Trampoline Park, Burlington, Conn’s HomePlus and …
At the mid-year mark, the greater Richmond area industrial market has continued to strengthen, closing with an overall occupancy rate of 91 percent in the categories being tracked (Class A, B, C vacant and investor-owned product with a minimum of 40,000 square feet total RBA). Class A occupancy increased slightly from 89 percent at the end of the first quarter to 91 percent at the end of the second quarter, and the majority of the Class A vacancy is attributed to a vacancy approaching 800,000 square feet in the former Ace Hardware facility in Prince George’s County. Ashley Capital purchased the property in early July for $21.7 million and will be offering the facility for lease. Class B occupancy has also experienced an increase to 92 percent, up from 89 percent at the end of the first quarter. CoStar Group reports overall industrial occupancy at 96 percent for product of all sizes, including investor-owned facilities, but excluding flex space (minimum 50 percent office). Richmond’s strategic Mid-Atlantic location along Interstate 95 provides access to 55 percent of the nation’s consumers within two days’ delivery by truck. In addition to being the northernmost right to work state on the Eastern Seaboard, Virginia …
Seeking higher yield, private capital multifamily investors are increasingly looking to the Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Chesapeake MSA. This region of seven cities and a population of more than 1.7 million people is known collectively as Hampton Roads. Strong fundamentals, a youthful population and an expanding economy offer more promising returns than most surrounding MSAs. Compressing cap rates Over the last 12 months, cap rates compressed nationwide. In Hampton Roads, Class A cap rates ranged between 5.25 and 5.50 percent. There is very little spread between Class A and going-in cap rates for well located, true value-add deals. Notable recent sales include the Waypoint Portfolio in Newport News, Trail Creek in Hampton and Brookfield and Woodshire in Virginia Beach. Collectively, cap rates for these transactions ranged from 5.50 to 5.75 percent. Transaction volume in 2018 exceeded $665 million. With deals in the MSA now trading as high as $70 million a piece, more private equity groups nationwide are seeking to invest in the market. Strong fundamentals Fundamentals in Hampton Roads continue to improve with steady year-over-year rent growth and occupancy near 95 percent. With numerous MSAs battling oversupply and concessionary pressures, Hampton Roads apartment owners benefit from a more modest development pipeline. CoStar …
If you mention the phrase “retail apocalypse” to anyone in the Richmond market, you will immediately receive a puzzled look back. The Richmond retail market is about as far away from a retail apocalypse as any market in the country. Yes, we have seen the Toys ‘R’ Us, Sears, Macy’s and Kmart closures, but with close to 83 million square feet of retail space in the Richmond MSA, the current retail vacancy rate is below 5 percent. The vacancy rate is at, or near, a record low and demand for more space remains robust. New retail development projects are leasing quickly and several noteworthy redevelopment projects are in the works. In May 2016, Wegmans opened its first 120,000-square-foot Richmond store at Stonehenge Village along Midlothian Turnpike. In August of that same year, Wegmans opened its second store at West Broad Marketplace in Short Pump. Since those two openings, Richmond has received new attention from many national tenants, developers, and investors looking to enter the market. Market activity has been driven by the likes of Wegmans, Kroger, Publix, Aldi, Lidl and Whole Foods Market, as well as Gold’s Gym, Planet Fitness and Crunch Fitness. In 2016, Ahold announced it would sell …
Richmond is thriving and the office market is following suit. The office market, like the broader Richmond region, benefits from Richmond’s diverse economy, high-quality of life at a reasonable cost of living and the steadily growing, highly educated workforce. These attributes make Richmond an attractive option for large employers evaluating cities for operations. Recent entrants to Richmond include CoStar Group, ICMA-RC and Owens & Minor. The CEO of CoStar pointed to Richmond’s educated workforce, affordability and excellent quality of life as the reasons Richmond recently beat out several other Southeast U.S. cities as the new home for the company’s global research headquarters. Growth from within Richmond is also driving the market with new developments of over $1 billion in the pipeline or currently under construction from two of Richmond’s largest employers: Virginia Commonwealth University Health System and Dominion Energy. Their developments in downtown Richmond are accompanied by a wide array of creative office developments in the formerly industrial Scott’s Addition micro-market located near the convergence of Interstates 64 and 95. The city of Richmond continues to be the recipient of most new office development with suburban development being limited and mainly healthcare centric, led by Bon Secours Health System and …
While there has been a strong demand for investment properties in Richmond, there remains a limited availability of both freestanding facilities and portfolio deals. In recent investment activity, the Byrd Corporate Park in eastern Henrico County sold to a joint venture between Dreyfuss Investments and Wells Holding Group for $31.3 million after previously transferring in 2011 for $26.3 million. The 10-building flex complex spans 475,783 square feet and was 80 percent leased at the time for sale. The three-building Interport Business Center, also located in eastern Henrico, sold at the end of 2017 to MDH Partners, adding to its Richmond International Airport area holdings. Containing 620,296 square feet total, the complex sold for $29 million and is now fully leased. Leasing Buoys Occupancy Local expansion has remained strong, a trend consistent with the Richmond market, and regional and national companies with an existing presence in the area have also announced expansions. The metro area has also seen the introduction of new manufacturers with large industrial footprints, further evidencing the benefits of the area’s location and infrastructure. At the mid-year mark, the Richmond area’s industrial market has continued to strengthen, closing with an overall occupancy rate of 94 percent in the …
December of this year will mark the 30th anniversary of the movie “Wall Street” and the introduction of the antihero, Gordon Gekko. In that movie, Gordon delivers the iconic “Greed is Good” speech to the shareholders of a besieged paper company. While things in the end did not turn out well for Gekko due in large part to his greed, the undertones of that speech are uncontentious: Performance and adaptation will come about when there are strong incentives to evolve. The evolutionary spirit of retail real estate is taking shape here in Hampton Roads and great things are happening. Grocers Take Battle Positions The Hampton Roads grocery industry has evolved over the years in large part due to fierce competition from Aldi and Lidl. These two German-based competitors will collectively bring over 20 new locations to the region, and bring with them a new no-frills experience with staple grocery items at a lower price point. Additional grocer announcements in the market include the first Wegmans that committed to a site near Town Center of Virginia Beach, Kroger’s four new developments throughout the region (although a recent freeze in capital projects have stalled those) and Walmart’s recently opened store in Virginia …
The Richmond retail market continues to be strong. Overall vacancy rates are slightly higher than usual, hovering around 7 percent with negative absorption, due to all types of new products coming online in the first half of 2017. The market is adding millennials at double the pace of any other generation and has been recently named in multiple media outlets as one of the top living destinations for millennials nationwide. With this influx, multifamily development in Richmond is robust, which in turn is attracting all types of urban retail and chef-driven restaurants. The most popular submarkets for new urban retail are the Central Business District, Shockoe Bottom and the white-hot Scott’s Addition, with many developers taking advantage of Richmond’s Historic Tax Credit program. Richmond’s famous grocery wars continue with major players jockeying for the best positions. Kroger has historically positioned themselves well in the market with 18 stores, many of which have gone through recent expansions to the Marketplace concept. It recently scrapped plans for the development of two new relocation positions in Mechanicsville and Colonial Heights. The most recent grocery news has been Martin’s Food Markets exiting and Publix entering the market. Martin’s peaked at 19 stores, most of …