During the first half of 2018, the Eastern Pennsylvania industrial market has been anything but quiet. Fueled by occupier demand and the institutional capital community’s perpetual appetite for industrial product, there has been unprecedented activity on the transactional front, which is up significantly year-over-year. From a pure volume perspective, the market is on a trajectory to make this the most active year on record. Unlike prior years where product starved capital markets would see less than a dozen quality trades in Pennsylvania, this year has proven to be more plentiful, with year-over-year sales volumes almost doubled for one-off offerings. Meanwhile, the mega transactions continue with pending portfolio and company sales like DCT to Prologis and GPT to Blackstone. Connected Markets While activity in specific submarkets ebbs and flows, the synergy between them is greater than ever before. In fact, the trend towards considering the Eastern Pennsylvania industrial market as a whole continues to gain traction. Whereas in the past, a tenant or investor may have been interested in evaluating a particular geographic region, today the various submarkets are providing equally viable options for those seeking to expand and new occupiers looking to open facilities. One exception to the rule is …
Bolstered by New York City’s growing and diversified economy, Manhattan’s office market continued to hum along during the second quarter, if at a slower pace than earlier in 2018. Technology, advertising, media and information (TAMI) companies are looking at in-demand submarkets such as Chelsea and Midtown South, where the bulk of new development is underway. Some financial firms are contemplating a move to the Hudson Yards neighborhood, where more than 9 million square feet of space is scheduled for completion in the next several quarters.The wave of efficiently operated properties is a magnet for the demands of forward-looking tenants and the city’s growing millennial workforce. Vacancy rates were below 11 percent across all submarkets in the second quarter, and new product scheduled to come on line during the next several quarters will help accommodate demand from creative industries and other sectors of the local economy. The supply-constrained United Nations-Turtle Bay submarket posted the borough’s lowest vacancy rate, 4.4 percent, while the famed Plaza District posted a 10.2 vacancy rate—a sign of Manhattan’s changing office landscape. Asking rents gained 40 basis points year-over-year overall to $64.86-per-square-foot. On the development front, the highlight of the second quarter was the debut of 3 …
The industrial sector continues to experience seemingly limitless success, and New Jersey is one of the nation’s leading markets. Amid record-setting asking rents, vacancy rates and leasing velocity, it would be tempting for property owners, tenants and investors to become complacent while reaping the rewards of a sophisticated global supply chain, impressive gross domestic product and strong investment returns. But challenges remain, and real estate professionals should consider them when making decisions. To continue to thrive in the industrial space, it behooves major players to explore solutions to some of the key matters facing the region. Limited Space for Development As a general rule, companies are insisting that warehouses be built within a one- or two-day drive of the customer, and from Central New Jersey, companies can reach 130 million consumers within a day’s drive. Therefore, it is no surprise that 75 percent of the industrial leases signed during the past two years for greater than 200,000 square feet occurred in Middlesex County, primarily along the New Jersey Turnpike. However, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find sites for construction. On top of that, when sites are identified, they often come with greater capital needs driven by redevelopment and brownfield issues. …
2018 is a compelling time to be in retail real estate, especially in New York. Sure, rents are probably still too high, but the vacancy rate keeps pressure on landlords and developers. There is no doubt Amazon will continue to disrupt and dominate, but reports of retail’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. The lower rents and vacancies are creating opportunity for retailers who can adapt to the factors driving consumers’ shopping habits. Perhaps more importantly, many of the city’s most desirable retail corridors such as Fifth Avenue and SoHo were historically difficult to come by, regardless of a tenant’s ability to pay. Now, opportunity beckons. The latest census data indicates New York City is growing and that the trend will continue as people seek urban environments to live, work and play. Futurists predict urban population growth to continue throughout the century. But it isn’t just residents and workers flocking to the Big Apple. More than 60 million tourists visited the city in 2017 and even more are projected to visit in 2018. Recent technological advancements have changed many aspects of human behavior, from the way we interact with one another to how we get around and how we purchase products. …
After a sluggish start to the year, the Manhattan office market has experienced a strong rebound. In the second quarter, more than 10 million square feet of space was leased, the highest quarterly total since 2014, pushing year-to-date leasing activity to just over 17 million square feet. At mid-year 2018, there were 17 new leases exceeding 100,000 square feet and 35 new leases of more than 50,000 square feet. Although the economy has been at a peak for an unusually long time, the Manhattan office market has reached new highs. This presents an interesting exception to the norm, where real estate typically lags the economy, and it is good news for the market. Market Drivers While demand has come from a variety of sectors, the most recent top occupiers have come from the FIRE (financial services, insurance, and real estate), TAMI (technology, advertising, media and information), law firm and coworking sectors. Early in the year, the FIRE sector dominated large-block transactions. Examples include JPMorgan Chase’s 420,000-square-foot lease at the newly renovated 390 Madison Ave., and Bank of America Corp.’s 343,000-square-foot lease at 1100 Avenue of the Americas and 127,000-square-foot lease at 1114 Avenue of the Americas. This level of expansion …
As the e-commerce industry continues to grow and evolve, demand for industrial warehouse product located in dense urban areas situated with access to transit infrastructure, particularly air transit, has grown. The industrial sector has been experiencing multiple years of record rent growth, both locally in New York City and nationally, with average asking rents reaching nearly $30 per square foot in western Brooklyn and parts of Queens. This rapid rise in rents is driving property values higher and generating robust investor demand for this asset class. By way of example, the newly constructed FedEx warehouse in Maspeth, Queens recently sold for nearly $750 per square foot. Simultaneously, we are seeing the evolution and realignment of the supply chain to match a changing retail landscape. E-commerce sales have caused a 300 percent increase in the demand for logistics and distribution spaces, as opposed to traditional brick-and-mortar retail locations. The impact of e-commerce will only continue to accelerate, and the need for new industrial product will grow along with it. For every $1 billion increase in e-commerce sales, an additional 1 million square feet of distribution space will be required. And it’s not solely e-commerce companies that are starting to think about …
America’s $3.5 trillion retail sector is going through tough times. E-commerce has cut into the conventional brick-and-mortar market by roughly 12 percent, an impact that has decreased rents, increased retail vacan- cies and left landlords increasingly anxious. But even in this period of widespread adjustment, the number of store openings nationwide has outpaced closings. We see this in Fairfield County, Connecticut, with first-quarter vacancy rates in 2018 totaling 3.7 percent, 30 basis points lower than one year ago, according to CoStar Group. The retailers that aren’t surviving are those that aren’t adapting to con- temporary market dynamics. Techno- logical and social disintermediation create the chaotic decision-making process of adapt or perish. Still, amid today’s anxieties, here are three examples of adaptation that offer promise. Selling an Experience Stores that are succeeding today are often the ones that have realized that retail is now less about selling goods and more about selling an experience. Below we offer two examples in Fairfield County, both designed to add a stimulating overlay of experience into typically more tepid retail settings. The first illustration of a retail experience is the indoor adventure ropes course located within furniture and mattress retailer Jordan’s 150,000-square-foot showroom along New Haven’s Long Wharf. Touted …
More apartments are being rented in Southern Connecticut, which is benefiting multifamily properties in the Fairfield County/New Haven region in several important ways. For New Haven, this means the return of rent growth. In Fairfield County, the added demand for rentals continues to support new development. An improved outlook for both markets has also positively influenced investment activity. In 2017, multifamily operators in the New Haven metropolitan area had one of their best years since the recession, thanks to improvements on multiple fronts. Appeal for apartments has generated the second-highest net absorption level so far this decade. Demand increased in the city itself, where Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital offer numerous employment opportunities, as well as in the surrounding greater New Haven suburbs. Absorption of rental units surpassed that of deliveries by a multiple of three, facilitating a major drop in vacancy. The metro’s overall vacancy rate at the end of the first quarter was 4.7 percent, 270 basis points below where it was just two years ago. Equally important, healthier demand has also aided rent values. Monthly effective rates started to rise in 2017 after retreating in 2015 and 2016, with rent growth nearing 6 percent year over …
The Rhode Island retail market has seen a considerable level of activity over the last year that presents promising signs of a strengthening economy and an improving property market. Generally speaking, each submarket has seen positive absorption of retail space, with the new concepts entering the market for the first time, as well as existing operators further expanding their footprints and market share. From street retail to lifestyle and big-box centers, each class has seen significant activity that represents a much healthier retail climate than popular opinion and media reporting might suggest. Some specific transactions are worth noting. Garden City Center in Cranston continues to outperform as the dominant outdoor shopping destination in the greater Providence market. This past year, The Wilder Companies built an approximately 29,800-square-foot addition at Garden City, which allowed them to bring Boston favorites Legal C Bar and Tavern in the Square to town. These are the first Rhode Island locations for both operators, which points to the strength of the local Rhode Island economy as well as the faith tenants have in the long-term viability of the best retail projects. Wilder was also able to bring The Simple Greek, Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, Z Gallerie …
The office sector in Rhode Island’s commercial real estate market has seen a strong carryover and positive momentum from 2017, into 2018, which we continue to enjoy today. The market has seen positive absorption in most areas and with little speculative development on the horizon, lease rates are being affected accordingly. It’s safe to say, it is no longer a Tenant’s market. In Providence, vacancy rates are hovering in the 12 percent range, down from 16.5 percent just a few years ago. Recent projects include the redevelopment of South Street Landing, a $230 million dollar renovation of the former Narragansett Electric power station which is now home to the URI/CCRI Nursing School as well as some of the administrative offices of Brown University. Just a block away, construction is underway for the 191,000-square-foot Providence Innovation Center. This will be occupied by the Brown University School of Professional Studies, Johnson & Johnson and the Cambridge Innovation Center. The redevelopment of 75 Fountain Street, a 160,000-square-foot building, once fully occupied by the Providence Journal, has also enjoyed positive absorption. The redevelopment by Nordblom Company and Cornish Associates has attracted companies such as Tufts Healthcare, GE Digital and Virgin Pulse to join the Providence …