Northeast Market Reports

Southern New Jersey Epitomizes Consistency of the Suburban Office Market

by Alex Patton April 21, 2020

As an adjunct of the greater Philadelphia market, but with a population that supports its own industry, Southern New Jersey is the archetype of the suburban office market. While throughout the country there has been a trend of firms migrating back to urban centers, Southern New Jersey has held its own against its metropolitan neighbor. In some instances, this area has outperformed average suburban office market metrics. Rebecca Ting, NAI Mertz For example, the national vacancy rate for suburban office markets stood at 22.1 percent at the end of 2019. Midway through the first quarter of 2020, the vacancy rate in Southern New Jersey’s core of Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties stands at 8.7 percent. That rate represents a slight increase from year-end 2019, but is consistent with the 8.5 percent median rate for the market over the past four years. Market rents have been on a steady ascent since mid-2016 and now stand at $21.30 per square foot. The two primary submarkets of Southern New Jersey — Cherry Hill and Marlton–Moorestown–Mount Laurel (3M) — are both performing well and are approaching an equilibrium on the metrics of vacancy rate and market rent. Julie Kronfield, NAI Mertz Office space in …

April 21, 2020

Market Reports Multifamily New Jersey Northeast Northeast Market Reports

Multifamily Capital Chases Limited Supply in Northern New Jersey

by Alex Patton April 14, 2020

An abundance of capital continues to flow into Northern New Jersey’s multifamily market, with most investors completing 2019 as net buyers and major institutions looking to remain active in 2020. Over the past decade, domestic and foreign investors alike have diversified into the multifamily space in Northern New Jersey and nationwide. The result has been a highly competitive playing field with limited opportunities. And with more capital in the market than opportunities to place it, many larger funds are now looking to make portfolio acquisitions in order to divest large amounts of capital at once. Brian Whitmer, Cushman & Wakefield Excluding portfolio deals, transaction volume for multifamily investment in Northern New Jersey reached $1.6 billion in 2019, marking a 38 percent year-over-year increase, with 4,846 units sold across 27 transactions. This rise in deal volume can be attributed largely to the “Mack-Cali Effect.” The locally based REIT made two major 2019 purchases in Jersey City — SoHo Lofts ($264 million) and Liberty Towers ($409 million) — that accounted for 41 percent of the year’s individual transaction volume. Buyer Patterns While larger institutions and REITs like Mack-Cali are active in Northern New Jersey, private investors still dominate the regional market. This …

April 14, 2020

Healthcare Market Reports Northeast Northeast Market Reports Pennsylvania

Healthcare Developers Adapt to Changing Landscape

by Alex Patton March 3, 2020

Anyone who has kept an eye on the healthcare real estate sector over the past several years is aware of the property type’s reliability amidst increasing economic uncertainty, which has resulted in growing interest among investors. However, for what has become one of the hottest investment sectors in recent years, transformations underway within the healthcare industry will bring changes to the asset class over the next decade. Bob Atkins, Managing Partner, Atkins Cos. The market fundamentals are easy to understand. According to a recent report from Real Capital Analytics, United States-based healthcare real estate assets account for over $1 trillion in market value. Physician visits by baby boomers are expected to nearly double in the next decade; it is also projected that by 2060, one in four people will be over 65 years old. These factors make it clear that this already large market is positioned for continued growth. However, in crowded regional healthcare markets like Philadelphia, which features several large competing healthcare systems and a variety of growing specialty networks, that growth will not just be more of the same. Changes in Delivery Traditionally, the American healthcare delivery model centered on hospitals, which meant that medical office buildings tended …

March 3, 2020

Philadelphia Rent & Occupancy Graph 2020

Content Partner Features Lument Market Reports Multifamily Northeast Northeast Market Reports Pennsylvania RED Capital Group

Philadelphia’s New Brand Identity in Commercial Real Estate

by Sarah Daniels February 26, 2020

Interest in Philadelphia among commercial real estate investors has been on the rise for years. But the Eastern Pennsylvania market managed to maintain a relatively low profile in the public consciousness, overshadowed by its larger East Coast primary market rivals, each with its own clear brand identity. But this is largely a thing of the past. Philadelphia has emerged lately as a leader in cutting-edge biotech and life science innovation. The city is a magnet for gene and cell-level therapy entrepreneurs, a status that is rapidly evolving into a distinct brand. Billions in venture capital and real estate investment have followed, elevating the Athens of America to the top rank of U.S. competitors for global investment cash. The multifamily sector is a chief beneficiary of the trend. Fueled by strong demand for luxury space, builders ratcheted apartment development higher over the past 10 years, raising construction starts from about 4,000 units per year at mid-decade to 6,000 annually since 2017. Currently, there are about 8,000 multifamily units under construction, and the pace isn’t likely to slow much this year. The magnitude of the supply surge is anticipated with a degree of trepidation in some quarters. Philadelphia renters have never absorbed …

February 26, 2020

New Jersey Northeast Northeast Market Reports Pennsylvania Retail

Philadelphia Retail Market Embraces Change in ’20s

by Alex Patton February 25, 2020

As our economy fades out of one decade and cruises into the next, a look in the rearview mirror reveals more than 10 years of expansion and 10-year GDP growth in excess of 26 percent. Sean Beuche, Marcus & Millichap The Philadelphia and Northeastern retail investment sales markets should be both thankful for progress made and road bumps navigated and mindful of several current trends affecting transactions and challenges looming on the horizon for owners and tenants of single and multi-tenant retail assets alike. Savvy Investors enter 2020 with the wind at their backs in many respects while also facing some familiar and unconventional challenges ahead. The 3.7 percent unemployment remains near a 50-year low, meaning that consumers are gainfully employed with money to spend. Mixed-use developments that capture the live-work-play lifestyle are ubiquitous and keep placemaking everywhere they spring up. Millennials and baby boomers alike are demanding walkable communities and opportunities to spend more of their money closer to home via dining out, signing up for memberships at gyms and fitness centers. Both these groups are enjoying the experiential retail that every landlord desires in their centers and portfolios. Stocks of publicly traded retailers like Target, Walmart, and Home …

February 25, 2020

New York Multifamily Rent and Occupancy Forecast 2020

Content Partner Features Lument Market Reports Multifamily New York Northeast Northeast Market Reports RED Capital Group

Expanded Rent Stabilization Law Freezes NYC Stabilized Multifamily Property Market, Generates Buying Opportunities for Intrepid Investors

by Sarah Daniels February 21, 2020

New York state authorities last year passed legislation designed to maintain rental affordability and housing stability in the Empire State. Mandated changes for units not currently subject to stabilization were mostly technical in nature — relating to rent increase notification periods, evictions and security deposits — but the impact on the New York City’s nearly 1 million regulated units was significant. Previously, an owner’s ability to raise stabilized unit rents was limited by a city board, except upon vacancy or after major property or unit improvements were made. These exceptions were curtailed by the legislation, largely negating the appeal of buying, renovating and repositioning older properties. The regulations sent a chill through the recently hot New York City multifamily property market. Sales volume dropped by half last year to about $3.3 billion, with the largest declines coming after the law took effect at mid-year. Indeed, volume in the typically busy fourth quarter plunged to less than $200 million, the lowest single-quarter sales total since recessionary 2010. Although obscured by thin volume, cap rates appeared to rise. After hovering near 4 percent throughout 2018, institutional B/B+ quality asset purchase yields gapped higher, drifting up to about 4.25 percent at mid-year and …

February 21, 2020

Life Sciences Market Reports Massachusetts Northeast Northeast Market Reports Office

Boston Life Sciences Market Shows No Sign of Slowing in 2020

by Alex Patton February 18, 2020

At this point, it sounds like the movie “Groundhog Day,” but 2019 was another impressive year of growth and success for the greater Boston life sciences real estate market — and that growth shows no signs of subsiding any time soon. Duncan Gratton, Cushman & Wakefield Strong levels of venture capital investment, big pharmaceutical partnerships and merger and acquisition activity continued to fuel unprecedented demand for life sciences space, not only in and around Cambridge but also in submarkets like the Seaport, Watertown and certain Route 128 corridors. Venture capital (VC) funding for life sciences, while not quite at 2018 levels, remained robust with nearly $6 billion invested through the end of November. Major funding deals that closed in 2019 include Ginkgo Bioworks ($290 million), ElevateBio ($150 million) and Beam Therapeutics Inc. ($135 million), which all committed to leasing lab space in existing buildings and new developments throughout the area. Supply-Demand Balance The urban Massachusetts life sciences market, which includes Boston, Cambridge, and the inner suburbs of Watertown, Lexington, Medford and Waltham, now enjoys an inventory of about 20 million square feet and ended 2019 with a vacancy rate of just over 4 percent. Successful speculative developments at Arsenal Yards …

February 18, 2020

Civic New York Northeast Northeast Market Reports

Passive House Construction Can Help NYC Developers Save on Emissions Costs

by Alex Patton February 12, 2020

Recently, New York City passed the Climate Mobilization Act bill as a way to counter climate change. If passed into law, the bill’s foundation would require buildings that are larger than 25,000 square feet to cut climate emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and by more than 80 percent by 2050. The legislation also requires certain buildings to cover roofs with plants, solar panels, small wind turbines or a combination of those elements. Rent-regulated housing, as well as structures of worship, won’t be subject to the emissions cap. However, building owners whose properties are subject to the new law will be fined $268 for every ton of emission beyond an individual building’s limit. To make the necessary changes to avoid these massive penalties — such as replacing outdated heating, cooling and lighting systems — owners will need to retrofit older buildings with updated energy-efficient technology. The legislation demonstrates what a metropolitan version of the Green New Deal, the national movement for a multi-trillion dollar, climate-friendly plan, might look like. The legislation is expected to create thousands of blue collar jobs and make it easier for the city to take advantage of future state and federal funding for clean energy projects …

February 12, 2020

Market Reports New York Northeast Northeast Market Reports Retail

Savvy Retailers ‘Recalibrate’ in New York City

by Taylor Williams February 5, 2020

Manhattan has long been one of the most competitive retail markets in the country due to two characteristics of its population: an incredible density and high incomes among residents and workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the average weekly wage of Manhattan’s private sector workforce was $3,153 in the first quarter of 2019, much higher than the national average of $1,184 per week. In addition to its residential base, tourism plays a strong role in Manhattan’s retail sales. Marketing agency NYC & Co. projects that New York City will host 67 million visitors this year, up from approximately 65 million in 2018. While these demographic factors have kept Manhattan’s brick-and-mortar retail market somewhat insulated from e-commerce and other factors affecting the industry, the borough has not been completely shielded from the woes affecting the retail industry. Pocket-sized technology offers immediate access to everything from groceries and apparel to cars and construction materials, forcing brick-and-mortar retailers to get creative with their shopping experiences in order to avoid closing stores. Manhattan remains a top-tier market that commands rents above the national average. But the net result of e-commerce and asking rents that don’t match operating costs is a shift in …

February 5, 2020

Market Reports New Jersey Northeast Northeast Market Reports Retail

American Dream Ushers in Retail, Entertainment Growth in Northern New Jersey

by Taylor Williams January 29, 2020

Across the Hudson River, retailers and residents in Northern New Jersey benefit from lower rents and lower sales prices relative to Manhattan. In addition, mass transit lines that cross the river enable mixed-use destinations that offer dining and entertainment experiences, including the new American Dream project, to function as day-trip destinations for residents and tourists. “Northern New Jersey is still a strong tenant’s market,” says John Azarian, co-founder and CEO of New Jersey-based brokerage firm The Azarian Group. “Tenants are commanding and receiving substantial build-out and tenant improvement accommodations, with the strongest retail tenants being in the service, fitness and dining industries.” The retail vacancy rate in Northern New Jersey in the third quarter stood at 4.2 percent, unchanged from a year ago. During the same period, the asking rent rose 2.1 percent to $26.47 per square foot, according to Marcus & Millichap. The firm projects that 3.1 million square feet of new retail space will be delivered in Northern New Jersey by the end of 2019. Most of that new product will be housed at the American Dream entertainment and retail development in East Rutherford. In late October, Triple Five Group opened the first phase of its approximately $5 …

January 29, 2020

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