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Midwest Market Reports

Market ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsOfficeWisconsin

How Milwaukee’s Hottest Downtown Buildings Continue to Drive Leasing Activity

by Kristin Harlow

By David Pudlosky and Patrick Savoie, JLL Milwaukee remains a strong office market with leasing activity showing no sign of slowing. Post-pandemic, companies took a fresh look at their workplace strategies to adjust to hybrid working environments, and many rightsized their overall square footage while adding significant amenities and attractions that provide a rewarding office experience for returning workers.  Despite a smaller footprint, tenants are seeking updated, highly amenitized spaces in Class A buildings. While amenities have always been a focus for landlords, the buildings that stand out today are the ones that focus on quality amenities over quantity. For example, today’s tenant will likely not be as interested in a building lounge unless it has comfortable seating, a café, strong Wi-Fi and more. To be relevant to tenants, amenities must be high end and culture focused.  We’ve seen companies like Milwaukee Tool, Fiserv, Komatsu Mining Corp. and Northwestern Mutual invest in their downtown office spaces and make commitments to bring more employees downtown, and we expect this trend to continue. Building owners can learn from what Class A building landlords are doing to drive leasing activity, and learn how investing in quality, amenity-driven spaces will likely bring in new …

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IndustrialMarket ReportsMichiganMidwestMidwest Market Reports

Grand Rapids Industrial Market Fundamentals Remain Strong

by Kristin Harlow

By Drew Miller, CBRE Despite some level of macroeconomic uncertainty, the fundamentals of the industrial real estate market in West Michigan remain solid. While the overall number of tenants in the market has recently declined slightly, the demand for space from local companies and tenants new to the market is still outpacing supply.  Nationally, the overall industrial vacancy rate finished the second quarter of 2023 at 3.7 percent, 30 basis points higher than the previous quarter but 100 basis points lower than the 10-year average. Comparatively, the West Michigan industrial market, of approximately 170 million square feet, ended the second quarter with an availability rate of less than 3 percent. The combination of a diverse economy, robust infrastructure and a conservative approach to development all factor into the continued strength of the region.   Grand Rapids, the second-largest city in Michigan, and West Michigan at large are blessed with a well-balanced and diverse economy led by office furniture, automotive suppliers, aerospace, food processing, e-commerce and advanced manufacturing companies. The area is home to many of the leading office furniture and related design companies, including MillerKnoll, Haworth and Steelcase, all headquartered in West Michigan, with many of their manufacturing and suppliers …

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Market ReportsMichiganMidwestMidwest Market ReportsMultifamily

Robust Multifamily Fundamentals Boost Market Appeal of Grand Rapids

by Kristin Harlow

By Scott Nurski and Kevin O’Reilly, NAI Wisinski Great Lakes The Grand Rapids multifamily investment sales market has experienced reduced volume year-to-date, but the fundamentals remain strong. West Michigan, especially Grand Rapids, is affordable, with abundant high-paying employment opportunities and a high quality of life. In the words of author Malcolm Gladwell, “I love Grand Rapids. Why doesn’t everyone live in Grand Rapids?”  Unlike many major markets, the construction pipeline here is slow and steady, with little risk of oversupply. While multifamily sales volume is down across the board, Grand Rapids remains a desirable location for owners and operators alike.  Multifamily fundamentals Annualized rent growth continues to normalize from the wild parabolic rise seen nationwide due to the pandemic and associated market disruptions. It currently stands at 5.1 percent, according to third-quarter data from CoStar for Kent County (30 units and above). This figure is a solid uptick from the second-quarter 2023 figure of 3.2 percent. The market generally is returning to the 3 to 5 percent range typically seen during pre-pandemic norms.  Occupancy improved slightly from 95.2 percent in the second quarter of 2023 to 95.4 percent in the third quarter of 2023. However, it has been gradually declining …

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IndianaMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsMixed-Use

Greater Lafayette, Indiana Is No Longer in the Shadows

by Kristin Harlow

By Jim Pitoukkas, Coldwell Banker Commercial Shook Outside of recognition related to Purdue University, the Greater Lafayette region (consisting of West Lafayette, Lafayette and surrounding towns in Tippecanoe County), has been in the shadows of the Indianapolis MSA to the south and Chicago MSA to the north. This is changing, though. Growth over the last decade has pushed Greater Lafayette into the national spotlight as an emerging hub for innovation in advanced manufacturing in industries including medical, aerospace and defense, agriculture and nanotechnology, and a burgeoning housing market. For three quarters straight, The Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com have ranked Greater Lafayette the No. 1 Emerging Housing Market in America based on comparatively affordable housing, a skilled technology-based workforce, and a strong growing local economy. Additionally, current and to-be residents benefit from consistent public investments in quality-of-life infrastructure that continue to attract new residents across a range of ages and backgrounds. Quality of life Greater Lafayette has invested in excess of $889 million in public investment since 2015. These investments have ranged from new utility infrastructure, a new minor league ball field, parks, county-wide trails, public facilities like the West Lafayette Wellness Center and the Lafayette Public Safety Center, and …

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Market ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsNebraskaOffice

Surge in Sublease Space Puts Pressure on Omaha Office Market

by Kristin Harlow

By Mike Rensch, Investors Realty The Omaha office market is facing an increasing amount of sublease space, which is having a significant impact on what spaces tenants prefer to lease right now. This is directly affecting all aspects of the overall office market as well. As the second quarter came to a close, the direct vacancy rate was 7.4 percent, compared with 7.6 percent in the second quarter of 2022.  With that said, those numbers do not paint the whole picture because they do not account for the amount of sublease space on the market. The availability rate (which includes direct space and sublease space available) was at 9.8 percent compared with 8.4 percent in the second quarter of 2022. We see this trend continuing for the time being as companies grapple with whether or not to bring their employees back to the office.    At the end of the second quarter, there was 841,000 square feet of sublease space available in Omaha, up from 723,000 square feet at the end of the second quarter of 2022. This represents a 14 percent increase in sublease space over the past year. It reached its peak of 919,000 square feet of available …

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Market ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsNebraskaRetail

Retailer Growth, Expansion in Metro Omaha Lead to Optimistic Outlook

by Kristin Harlow

By Sara Hanke, The Lerner Co. Eternally optimistic is the state most commercial real estate brokers find themselves in, particularly when it comes to the retail sector. We must be, as the conditions of the retail market are quite often painted in negative broad strokes. The predictions that online sales would be the demise of physical retail proved wrong. Retailers that are digitally native continue to open brick-and-mortar locations after realizing the limits of online customer acquisition and growth.  Most recently, the pandemic has shown us that retail can weather the storm of restrictions and limitations. Now we are in a post-pandemic world where the restrictions and upheaval of the way we consume has shifted our mindset. Shoppers have returned to their daily shopping, eating and entertainment needs. Navigating the complexities of the retail real estate market continues to keep us all on our toes. The first and third quarters were healthy with vacancy dipping below 5 percent. So far, the third quarter has proven strong due to new-to-market concepts looking to do multiple location rollouts as well as existing retailers looking to add additional locations.  As the year progresses, we are not without challenge. There has been a shortage …

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IllinoisIndustrialMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market Reports

Industrial Cooldown Hits Metro Chicago Market

by Kristin Harlow

By Mike Mangan, Cresa We knew it would happen, it was just a matter of time: The industrial real estate market is currently experiencing a cooling trend in Chicago and across the country. The best-performing asset across all commercial asset classes for the past several years is finally coming back to earth due to higher borrowing costs and a slowdown in demand. Rental rates are beginning to level off and many economists are predicting a reduction in consumer spending.  The industrial sector had been able to flourish despite economic headwinds, with demand during the pandemic heavily focused on e-commerce activity. The supply versus demand is shifting, and this should be welcome news to tenants in the market or who will be in the market in the next 12 to 24 months. Indicators are not pointing toward a crash landing, but a return to earth for the golden child of the commercial real estate asset classes. Tenants and occupiers will be able to utilize the additional supply coming to market to secure better economics and concessions.  The facts Let’s first take a look at the national landscape. The U.S. unemployment rate in August was 3.8 percent — higher than predicted by …

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IndustrialKansasMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsMissouri

Kansas City Industrial Market: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

by Kristin Harlow

By Scott Bluhm, Newmark Zimmer Since 2016, the Kansas City industrial market has been on a hot streak. We observed more opportunities and increased user activity. There have been consistent years of record positive space absorption and the delivery of Class A buildings, whether speculative or build-to-suit.  The peak of that hot streak was in 2022. The year concluded with records in positive absorption, vacancy and rental growth. By the end of 2022, Kansas City became the 15th-largest industrial market in terms of square footage, surpassing Seattle. Significant statistics for 2022: •Over 16 million square feet of positive absorption •A vacancy low of 3.6 percent •A 10.6 percent increase in rental rates The year 2023 has been unique due to economic conditions and uncertainty. New speculative construction starts are down approximately 70 percent, with around 2.5 million square feet breaking ground in 2023. Most of the speculative buildings delivering in 2023 were projects that began construction in 2022.  Annual net absorption has decreased to 2.5 million square feet in the first and second quarters. For reference, the fourth quarter of 2022 saw a record-setting net absorption of approximately 7.3 million square feet, and the third quarter of 2022 had 3.2 …

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IndustrialMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsMissouri

National, Regional Developers Eye St. Louis Industrial Market

by Kristin Harlow

By Mary Lamie, Bi-State Development The industrial real estate market continues to show its strength in the St. Louis region as new investments by industrial developers hold steady.  Coming off a record year in 2022, with more than 7 million square feet of completions entering the market and 6.5 million square feet absorbed, the region’s new construction has leveled off a bit, with 1.1 million square feet of industrial space delivered so far in 2023 and 3.6 million square feet of space still under construction, according to the latest numbers from Colliers. Speculative construction rates remain high, with 65 percent of construction since 2019 being speculative builds. This growth in industrial construction is being fueled by national and regional developers who believe St. Louis has the industrial activity levels needed to drive construction investments. Data included in the “St. Louis Regional Industrial Real Estate Market Indicators & Workforce Report,” released by the St. Louis Regional Freightway in May, shows the St.Louis region now has 182 million square feet of space available.  According to the report, the region offers the largest amount of manufacturing space available on the market compared to other Midwestern cities, along with one of the lowest triple …

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Market ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsMinnesotaRetail

Strong Regional Economy Propels Minneapolis Retail Market

by Kristin Harlow

By Tricia Pitchford and Amy Senn, Mid-America Real Estate A strong regional economy continues to propel the retail real estate market in Minneapolis heading into the fall. Unemployment remains lower than the national average, though up from last year’s remarkable sub-2 percent. New jobs are being created at a nice clip. At the same time, retail real estate space is tight, with limited new construction. Well-located spaces are being re-tenanted quickly. The same is generally true for B and C locations. Rents are flat to increasing. Higher construction costs continue to hamper tenant expansion. Although the macroeconomy is slowing, consumers are proving resilient, with a large appetite (pun intended) for quick-service restaurants and personal services, in particular. Where’s the most action? Suburban trade areas are seeing most of the activity across the metro area. Maple Grove, Woodbury, Edina and Roseville are among the strongest submarkets. A couple of urban trade areas, namely the North Loop warehouse district and Northeast Minneapolis, stand out for their growing appeal as arts, entertainment and dining districts. (Yes, we have hipsters in the Twin Cities.) Generally infill and redevelopment opportunities are more time-consuming and costly to execute than ground-up development, but that’s not stopping the …

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