Market Reports

Transforming San Antonio: Opportunities for Greener, Healthier Urban Development in Rising Cities

by Taylor Williams November 4, 2020

By Cameron Kraus, technical designer at Gensler The future of the city is in flux. Many of us have been and continue to work from home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic altering our perceptions and expectations of what it means to live in an urban environment. According to insights from the Gensler Research Institute’s City Pulse Survey, which aims to capture people’s changing attitudes during this time, many people, particularly those with young families, may be growing tired of big city life. This is due in large part to ongoing affordability issues, but also to increasing concerns about health and wellness. The survey also found that nearly half of our respondents still want to live in an urban environment. Many said they want to leave high-density, high-cost cities for more affordable, smaller ones like San Antonio, as these cities still offer a broad range of amenities with a lower cost of living. Reintroducing The 20-Minute City As we examine our cities with fresh eyes, we have a unique opportunity to rethink how we define and connect our neighborhoods. Cities such as Barcelona, London and Paris are looking to create “20-minute cities,” a concept based on early 20th century …

November 4, 2020

Kentucky Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Real Estate’s Holding Pattern is No Match for Louisville’s Top-Tier Potential

by Alex Tostado November 2, 2020

Much like the rest of the nation, both Louisville-area landlords and tenants are stalling while waiting for the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to become clear. The office market in Louisville has entered a holding pattern of sorts, while tenants evaluate their workspace needs in light of the major shift to remote work. Many are opting to wait and see what the market holds, a stark contrast to the steady development and leasing activity we saw in 2019. Now with investors taking a more long-term view of the market, larger portfolio sales are limited while everyone questions the future demand for office space. The most recent portfolio transfer was made by the New York-based Group RMC Corp. in its acquisition of a six-building, Class B office portfolio from locally based Ascent Properties for $44.5 million. The deal was traded at an 8.6 percent cap rate. However, don’t let the lull in activity fool you. The region’s office market is ripe with possibilities. While many local companies initially speculated about permanently adopting full-term remote work in the second quarter, they’re reconsidering as time goes on. Regional JLL research shows that 80 percent of businesses said most employees will eventually return …

November 2, 2020

Healthcare Life Sciences Market Reports Massachusetts Northeast Northeast Market Reports Office

Specialized Labor, Tenant Demand Fuel Growth of Boston’s Life Sciences Market

by Taylor Williams October 30, 2020

By Brendan Carroll, research director, Cushman & Wakefield Through the first three quarters of 2020, the Boston life sciences market is seeing record occupancy, a continuation of large new-building leases, stable rents at record levels, high levels of pre-committed new construction and an insatiable appetite for inventory in new submarket clusters. Cushman & Wakefield defines laboratory properties as facilities optimized for the physical scientific research of biotechnology products. COVID-19’s Impact Following a pause of leasing activity in the first quarter of 2020, lease negotiations for laboratory facilities resumed quickly in the second quarter, hitting a level that commercial office properties have still yet to see. While optimism quickly returned for the region’s office-using businesses, widespread execution of remote office-using job functions has proven to be more effective for many of these workforces than market leaders previously envisioned. The consensus among real estate observers suggests a long-term decrease in the percent of in-office workers for traditional office-using functions. However, the importance of the continued use of physical spaces for biotechnology research will not be affected, as this function cannot be accommodated through current and easily envisioned remote work practices. These are highly specialized jobs performed by employees with highly targeted skill …

October 30, 2020

Industrial Market Reports Texas Texas Market Reports

Industrial Growth Comes Full Circle in Texas-Arkansas Border Region

by Taylor Williams October 29, 2020

By Eric Voyles, executive vice president, TexAmericas Center Years before smartphones and decades before Zoom, community leaders along the Texas-Arkansas border decided to turn a shuttered military property into a regional economic driver. Now, with the boost of a technological revolution that makes it easier than ever to connect with companies worldwide, that venture is paying major dividends. Located in the Texarkana MSA, TexAmericas Center (TAC) is an industrial park with a unique twist — it’s run by a special purpose district of the State of Texas. That means it operates like a government, controlling its own zoning and permitting processes, but it also functions like a competitive real estate development company. This combination has been particularly attractive to relocating and expanding businesses over the years and continues to drive growth for the greater Texarkana economy. Companies considering relocation or expansion at TAC frequently comment on the variety of infrastructure updates made to the industrial park. They are also quick to appreciate an impressive transportation corridor that uses multiple state highways, interstates, air freight and rail lines to disperse from a central U.S. location. But what new companies don’t always realize just how deep the supply of skilled workers is, and …

October 29, 2020

Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports Virginia

Richmond Industrial Market Maintains Strong Momentum Through Mid-Year

by Alex Tostado October 26, 2020

At the mid-year mark, industrial occupancy in the greater Richmond area remains strong, closing with an overall occupancy rate of 92 percent in the categories being tracked (Classes A and B, as well as select Class C vacant and investor-owned product with a minimum of 40,000 square feet). Class A occupancy decreased slightly to 95 percent at the end of the second quarter, down 100 basis points from 96 percent at the end of the first quarter. The largest addition to the vacant Class A inventory is a 226,000-square-foot former GSA facility in Chesterfield County. Class B occupancy experienced an increase to 92 percent, up from 90 percent at the end of the first quarter. CoStar Group reports overall industrial occupancy at 95 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 has been ranked as the top state for business by CNBC. Richmond is located approximately 90 miles from the Port of Virginia in …

October 26, 2020

Industrial Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Missouri

Kansas City Is Key Location for Warehousing, Distribution

by Kristin Harlow October 22, 2020

By Ora Reynolds and Mike Bell, Hunt Midwest Kansas City industrial real estate is trending upward with no shortage of leasing activity. The city’s location in the heart of America, with 30 percent more interstate miles per capita running through it than any other city, offers efficiency and redundancy for global e-commerce and distribution operations. With over 270 million square feet of existing industrial space in both surface and underground business parks, ample land for new buildings, a skilled logistics workforce and robust power and fiber infrastructure, Kansas City is one of the preferred geographic locations for distribution centers and is poised for continued growth based on these strong fundamentals. The nation’s transition to online purchasing at an unprecedented pace has created ripples of change. The increase in e-commerce is driving demand for more distribution space at a rate of 1.25 million square feet for each $1 billion increase in online sales, and this demand puts an increasing pressure on the supply chain for resiliency. Americans are purchasing everything online, from food and essential supplies to clothing and gifts. In the second quarter of 2020, Americans increased their online purchasing by $211.5 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. …

October 22, 2020

Florida Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Industrial Supply, E-Commerce Demand Create Recipe for Orlando’s Silver Lining

by Alex Tostado October 19, 2020

For years, “just in time” has been the key to driving efficiency of retailers and manufacturers alike. This model by and large combined low-cost production in Asian markets supported by speedy air carrier distribution to move goods while holding minimal cushion for backup stock. Post-pandemic thinking could bring that epoch to an end. The crisis has underscored our distribution networks’ fragility, which are now vulnerable to closed facilities, ports and borders. Many businesses are planning major restructuring of their supply chain processes due to the disruptions that we all have endured in recent months. The new model based on quick recovery will likely be driven by resiliency that ensures adequate merchandise availability in the event of threats to a business’ supply chain stability. This will require more warehouse and distribution space to store goods for deliveries in last-mile markets. The noticeable effects continue to grow as more last-mile oriented warehouse space is leased closer to the end-user. Industrial users see the impact of the pandemic as a short-term challenge that is altering the long-term growth strategy of their corporate planning. By way of example, Publix’s Southeast store sales climbed 21.8 percent for the second quarter of this year. Grocery now …

October 19, 2020

Industrial Market Reports Self-Storage Texas Texas Market Reports

Self-Storage Resists Recession Yet Again

by Taylor Williams October 16, 2020

By Taylor Williams As commercial property types go, self-storage is considered one of the toughest to sink in times of economic hardship. As Texas and the United States enter the eighth full month of the COVID-19 pandemic, this quality is beginning to show through. Natural disasters like floods and hurricanes tend to be windfalls for the asset class, as displacement from homes and damage to commercial properties raise short-term demand for self-storage. A pandemic does not have quite the same effect on the property type, especially when residential landlords in the United States are legally barred from evicting tenants. But for the major self-storage markets of Texas, COVID-19 has generated some positive results. COVID’s impact on self-storage is somewhat similar to Hurricane Harvey’s impact on the Houston multifamily market in 2017, which was also overbuilt and saw an overnight boost in occupancy as a result of the storm cutting into supply. In essence, COVID-19 has served as a mechanism to bring supply-demand balances closer to equilibrium. Because prior to the pandemic, the development pipelines in the major cities of Texas were peaking, creating oversupplied markets that were defined by sluggish rent growth, concessions and high levels of competitions for new …

October 16, 2020

Illinois Industrial Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Missouri

Missouri, Illinois Ports Collaborate to Grow Business on Inland Waterways

by Kristin Harlow October 15, 2020

By Mary Lamie, Bi-State Development The key to current and future success for four ports in Missouri and Illinois is collaboration. As ports continue to play a critical role in the global supply chain, the special working relationship between the directors of the ports in St. Louis and Kansas City is helping to keep operations flowing on the inland waterways, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant investments in each port are also fueling growth at each facility. “Like many others in the freight industry, we are classified as essential. We have access to six Class I railroads, two multimodal harbors, four interstate highways and millions of square feet of warehouse space, plus manufacturing areas and developable sites,” says Dennis Wilmsmeyer, executive director of America’s Central Port (ACP), where the constant level of activity reinforces the significance of all ports as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. With its location just north of St. Louis on the Illinois bank of the Mississippi River and its many transportation and logistical advantages, ACP has attracted 80-plus commercial tenants. Its harbor operators transport more than 3 million tons of goods valued at more than $1.1 billion annually. Though the pandemic has resulted in …

October 15, 2020

Market Reports Retail Texas Texas Market Reports

Central Texas Retail Investment Market Heats Up

by Taylor Williams October 13, 2020

By Brad Bailey, first vice president, CBRE; Adam Rabin, associate, CBRE; and Logan Reichle, vice president, CBRE It’s no secret that across the United States, the retail investment community has had to shift and adapt in several ways due to the ongoing pandemic. In addition, retail owners have had to make quick assessments of their strategies for asset management, usually on a property-by-property basis. For the first part of the pandemic, the commercial real estate industry was primarily reactive and in crisis mode. However, seven months into it, the indication is that this is something that will be around for the foreseeable future. As such, investors are moving out of their reactive modes and beginning to implement offensive strategies to identify and secure strong retail real estate investments. There are a number of key reasons that these investors are honing in on Central Texas retail: Suburban vs Downtown Good retail locations are hard to come by in Austin. We estimate that investment demand will rebound for space recently vacated. In high-quality locations, don’t expect too much of a change on rental rates. For some Austin submarkets like Cedar Park and Lakeway, we may see rates adjust slightly as vacancy rises. …

October 13, 2020

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