Midwest Market Reports

New Chicago Office Markets Shape Perception of the City

by Kristin Harlow June 14, 2018

It’s an exciting time to be part of the action in Chicago’s real estate market. While Illinois remains an “outflow” state, construction cranes dot the Chicago skyline and the city’s inflow numbers remain positive. Large employers are considering Chicago for campus-like headquarters operations and exciting markets are continuing to grow. In particular, west side blight continues to be replaced by residential growth in the West Loop, with retail services finally gaining momentum despite slow adoption by soft goods merchants. The West Loop’s immediate neighbor to the north, Fulton Market, maintains its buzz as the popular new kid in town, demonstrated by its ability to attract office tenants. Yes, office tenants. Transportation for workers, the primary objection to Fulton Market that has previously knocked it out of contention, will continue to be a challenge as public options slowly catch up to the development in the area. Employers will have to be creative in providing alternatives for new talent not within reasonable cycling or ride-sharing range. How did this happen when a decade ago the notion of office space west of the expressway was thought to be an absurd one? Because Chicago is not landlocked to the west by any natural barriers, …

June 14, 2018

Illinois Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Multifamily

Deconversions, Adaptive Reuse Drive Chicago Multifamily Investment

by Kristin Harlow June 7, 2018

Resilience in the Chicago apartment market amid a historic construction boom is creating opportunities for multifamily investors, particularly those who are willing to go the extra mile — sometimes literally — to capitalize on rent growth outside the downtown core. Across the city in outlying neighborhoods like Uptown, Rogers Park and Pilsen, value is being discovered in vintage buildings due to their high appreciation potential. In addition to circumventing rising material and labor costs, buyers of existing buildings are benefiting from their ability to collect rents now, while there’s still room for growth, rather than going through the time-consuming development process that has cast a shadow over some pipeline projects. Wave of deconversions Condo deconversions have been a popular choice among investors in recent years, with nearly 2,000 units deconverted at a combined market value of approximately $437 million since late 2016 in Chicago, according to data from CoStar Group and Interra Realty. When executed well, these transactions create a win-win for both parties involved. Condo owners, some of whom are still trying to recover value lost during the recession, can usually sell their units at a higher price than they would have achieved on their own, particularly in older …

June 7, 2018

Industrial Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Missouri

Kansas City Industrial Market Ranks in Top 10 for Speculative Construction Growth

by Kristin Harlow May 31, 2018

“If you build it, he will come.” Yes, you’ve heard the Field of Dreams reference before, but never has it rang truer than with the Kansas City industrial market. The construction of 500,000-square-foot buildings suddenly ignited tenants’ interest in that space size, so much so that in the past two years Kansas City has experienced a tremendous surge in growth. In fact, Kansas City is now ranked No. 6 on the list of the top 10 U.S. industrial markets for speculative construction deliveries, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Coming off a record 5.5 million square feet of positive net absorption in 2016, the market exceeded that number by 65.7 percent in 2017 with a staggering year-end total of 9.2 million square feet of absorption. Putting that kind of tenant demand into perspective is challenging. The consensus is that while Kansas City has enjoyed a boom period for the past few years, 2018 will prove to be the best year yet. For the past six years, the vacancy rate held steady, never going above 8.3 percent and never dropping below 7.1 percent. To better understand just how fast this market is growing, let’s examine some of the largest industrial markets in …

May 31, 2018

Industrial Kansas Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports

Led by Aerospace, Wichita’s Industrial Market Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

by Kristin Harlow May 24, 2018

The industrial sector remains the prime beneficiary of the numerous technological shifts occurring throughout the economy. E-commerce continues to fuel demand for distribution and warehouse space in the national industrial sector. The Wichita market remains focused on the aerospace cluster, advanced manufacturing and the growing advanced materials sector to sustain and grow the industrial segment. The current supply pipeline is to remain about the same as it has over the past couple of years, with over 726,000 square feet under construction at the end of the first quarter and many new large developments announced. Net absorption is expected to occur at a steady pace, resulting in lower vacancies around 6 to 7 percent. Average asking rental rates grew to $4.38 per square foot for general industrial space and $10.26 per square foot for flex space as of the end of the first quarter. This growth will accelerate further as the market continues to tighten through 2018. Employment growth has not been reflective of renewed vigor in the industrial sector, however, highlighting the influence of other industries such as technology. The industrial sector’s outlook is bright since increased emphasis on aerospace production and advance manufacturing shows no sign of abating. Of …

May 24, 2018

Market Reports Michigan Midwest Midwest Market Reports Retail

In Detroit, the Retail Market Continues Upward Trajectory on Several Fronts

by Kristin Harlow May 17, 2018

Detroit’s economy is reinventing itself and slowly gaining its footing after the Great Recession and the city’s bankruptcy. Low interest rates supported record auto sales in 2016 and another strong showing last year, adding some stability to the metro area’s bellwether industry. A rejuvenated downtown and new, growing industries are invigorating the retail market. The story of retail in Detroit closely follows the overall narrative of the market — out with the old and in with the new. Because of this, well-known national retailers such as John Varvatos and Lululemon have made their way into downtown, while international retailer Zara established a presence in Troy, reiterating the market’s strengthened retail sector. Job growth is closely aligned with retail sales, and payrolls in the Motor City have been expanding, on and off, since mid-2009. At times, the snail’s pace of growth has proven frustrating for a market that bore an above- average burden due to population declines and the auto industry’s collapse. The outlook is positive, however, and total nonfarm payroll employment in metro Detroit eclipsed the 2 million mark last year for the first time since 2006. Manufacturing and professional and business services have provided the foundation for the local …

May 17, 2018

Market Reports Michigan Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office

Investors Take Notice of Office Rebound in Detroit’s CBD and Suburbs

by Kristin Harlow May 10, 2018

Metro Detroit’s office recovery continues to steadily march forward. Local and national commercial real estate investors are showing a renewed appetite for buying and renovating existing buildings, and even developing new product. The City of Detroit has experienced the quickest recovery, going from near stagnant activity with a vacancy rate of 21.5 percent to a single-digit vacancy of 8 percent with multiple new developments in the past eight years, according to CoStar Group. Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures, invested in about 90 Detroit properties, totaling 15 million square feet, which kicked off Detroit’s rehabilitation. This prompted several other companies to stake an interest in Detroit’s Central Business District. The resurgence continues, and today numerous projects are in development that appeal to millennials and empty nesters alike. Most of these projects are situated on Woodward Avenue, which has been the center of the area’s rebirth. Within a few blocks of this avenue reside most of the renovated office buildings, the stadium district, new shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and cultural institutions like the Detroit Institute of Arts, Charles H. Wright Museum and The Detroit Opera House. Currently, there are several multifamily projects in downtown Detroit such as Midtown …

May 10, 2018

Market Reports Michigan Midwest Midwest Market Reports Multifamily

Surging Demand for Apartments in Downtown Detroit Is Testament to the City

by Kristin Harlow May 3, 2018

At a time when downtown Detroit is in the midst of a civic renaissance, the state of the city’s multifamily real estate market is both a reflection of larger trends and a sign of what might be in store for the Motor City in the years ahead. To keep a pulse on the market, Broder & Sachse Real Estate compiles a market study twice a year to evaluate the rental and occupancy rates of all multifamily properties downtown. Through this research, the continued strength of Detroit’s multifamily market is abundantly clear, with an average occupancy rate of 95.6 percent across downtown in winter 2018. This occupancy rate indicates demand is high, especially coupled by the findings in the Downtown Detroit Partnership’s third Greater Downtown Residential Market Study released in 2017. The study estimated that an additional 10,000 units will be needed over the next five years. The need for these additional 10,000 units means supply — or a relative lack thereof — is also part of the equation. While the number of residential units in Detroit has increased by a great deal on a percentage basis, in relative terms the volume of quality residential product is still somewhat limited. Today, …

May 3, 2018

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Multifamily Nebraska

National, Regional Investors Are Drawn to Omaha’s Apartment Market

by Kristin Harlow April 26, 2018

With asking rental rates increasing, an average vacancy rate of 5.7 percent and a low average asking rent per unit of just $855 per month, Omaha’s apartment market is increasingly attractive to national and regional investors. According to apartment research firm Reis, Omaha’s average asking rental rate has increased in every quarter for the past seven years, and is expected to increase by another 2.2 percent in 2018. While not stellar growth, it continues a steady march upward that has benefited owners in Omaha for quite some time. Driving the growth in rents is the balanced nature of the Omaha market coupled with Omaha’s strong underlying economy. From a population growth perspective, census data shows that Omaha’s metropolitan statistical area (MSA) has grown 1.2 percent per year since 2010, and is now estimated at 939,000 people. That steady trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, as Omaha’s population is projected to grow another 1.1 percent per year through 2022. In terms of absorption, Omaha has averaged an annual addition of 4,000 households over the past 10 years, according to Reis. Renters account for 34.3 percent of Omaha MSA’s housing units, translating to roughly 1,372 new renter households each …

April 26, 2018

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Nebraska Retail

How the Omaha Retail Market Is Adapting to Big Box Store Closures

by Kristin Harlow April 19, 2018

The pace of evolution in the retail sector is accelerating in a manner that few would have anticipated even five years ago. E-commerce has proven to be a very powerful disruptor, affecting both retailers and property owners alike. For some who have had the foresight and financial resources to adapt to this change, the disruption has brought opportunities for growth and increased market share. Clearly, not all have been able to adapt — some due to lack of execution and others seemingly caught in circumstances beyond their control. Despite the turbulence within the retail category, overall U.S. retail sales grew a very respectable 4.2 percent during 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The growth is attributed to continuing gains in employment and a marked improvement in economic growth during the second half of the year. On the local level, the Omaha retail market exhibited moderate improvement during 2017, following a year of weak performance in 2016. The market absorbed just over 364,000 square feet during the year (see chart), slightly under the average annual rate of 378,000 square feet for the past five years. The overall vacancy rate decreased from 11.2 percent to 10.5 percent during the year as …

April 19, 2018

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Multifamily Ohio

Strong Fundamentals Are in Place for Cincinnati’s Multifamily Market

by Kristin Harlow April 12, 2018

The strength of the national multifamily market has been driven by a number of factors, especially job and wage growth. Nationally, annual job growth has been 1.5 percent and annual wage growth has been 2.9 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another factor affecting the multifamily market is homeownership. In the United States, homeownership reached 65 percent in 2008, dropped to 60 percent in 2015 and rebounded to 65 percent at the end of 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Strong demand, low vacancies, good rental growth and a vibrant sales market have characterized the market. During the last 10 years, the millennial population has primarily rented housing and baby boomers have been downsizing to apartments or condos. These trends have contributed to the multifamily market’s strength. We see the millennial sector housing choices changing with much of the generation getting married and starting families. Last year represented the third-best year in history for multifamily property sales volume, according to Dave Lockard, senior vice president in the multifamily brokerage division of CBRE. Another factor affecting multifamily markets is a slowdown in new construction. Higher construction costs and more conservative commercial bank construction financing have led to …

April 12, 2018

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