Market Reports

Small But Mighty Cambridge Office Market Primed for More Growth

by David Cohen February 6, 2019

Although one of New England’s smallest geographical submarkets, spanning only 7.1 square miles, Cambridge packs a serious one-two punch between its thriving office and life science sectors. Routinely ranked as one the nation’s most densely populated cities, universities, research institutes and private corporations employ many of the 110,000 residents of Cambridge. Not surprisingly, 44 percent of those residents are highly educated millennials between the ages of 18 and 35, according to the most recent U.S. Census and American Community Survey. Those millennials form the unparalleled labor pool that has employers clamoring for talent. Hosting more than 230 life science and high-tech companies, research from CBRE suggests that Cambridge contains upwards of 700 start-ups, many of which are pioneered by entrepreneurial professionals spinning out from larger institutions. Known as the city of squares, Cambridge is divided into three distinct submarkets, each with their own distinctive flavor — East Cambridge, anchored by MIT and Kendall Square; Mid Cambridge, home to Harvard University and West Cambridge/Fresh Pond area. Collectively the city contains roughly 11.2 million and 14.6 million square feet of commercial office and life science space, respectively. Low Vacancy, High Rents Cambridge finished 2018 maintaining incredibly low office and life science vacancy …

February 6, 2019

Hawaii Industrial Market Reports Western Western Market Reports

Low Vacancy, High Demand Define Hawaii’s Industrial Market

by Taylor Williams February 5, 2019

When we last reported on the health of Oahu’s industrial market in December 2017, we offered rationale for a then 1.88 percent industrial vacancy rate. This was fueled by demand from contractors building large residential condo developments, the construction of a nearly $10 billion light rail system (voter approved at less than $5 billion), booming tourism and military sectors and large public infrastructure improvements. Oahu’s small 40.4-million-square-foot industrial market was under further compression as industrial product was being taken by the state to support rail construction, or lost due to high rise residential construction and the expansion of our main Honolulu harbor. A prohibitive industrial construction cost scale, which generally exceeds $125 per square foot for metal skin shell warehouse, had also slowed spec and build-to-suit construction. Fast forward to late 2018, and our statistics reflect an industrial vacancy rate bouncing off the bottom at just 2.02 percent. The monthly industrial base rent average is $1.20 per square foot and monthly operating expenses are $0.40 per square foot. This vacancy rate average reflects a small increase over the previous quarter as tenants scrape the bottom of the inventory barrel looking for suitable space. LoopNet cites six industrial availabilities of more …

February 5, 2019

District of Columbia Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Market Reports

D.C.’s Multifamily Market Sees Strong Demand for its Healthy Development Pipeline

by Alex Tostado February 4, 2019

Washington, D.C.’s multifamily market has enjoyed success in recent years, and 2018 has been no exception. The regional economy continues to function at an extremely healthy level, adding 77,100 new jobs in the trailing 12 months ending July 2018, much more than the annual average of 41,000 since 2010. The region has outgrown its previous dependence on the federal government, which contracted by 4,800 jobs over the same period, further highlighting the strength of the region’s private sector. This sustained economic upside is only further enhanced by the looming possibility of Amazon’s HQ2, Apple and other large tech contracts. The strong job growth has been matched by a steady increase in population, which has grown 10.44 percent since 2010, to roughly 6.25 million people. To accommodate such growth, the supply pipeline has been equally as robust, delivering nearly 13,000 units per year for the past five years. In addition to all the recent deliveries, absorption has remained steady and strong, with the market absorbing a net positive of 7,570 units over the trailing 12 months. Furthermore, Class A rents have still managed to grow 1.4 percent over the past year, while overall market rent growth has grown an even higher …

February 4, 2019

Market Reports Multifamily Texas Texas Market Reports

Survey: Multifamily Metrics Will Cool in 2019

by Taylor Williams February 1, 2019

Multifamily properties have produced strong returns for commercial developers and investors over the past few years. But the apartment supply wave appears to have crested, suggesting 2019 will bring a slower pace of rent growth. Consequently, pricing levels should come down, cap rates should creep upward and returns on investment should cool. According to a report from commercial real estate research firm Yardi Matrix, America’s multifamily market experienced 3.1 percent annual rent growth for the 12-month period ending November 2018, the latest data available at the time of this writing. The report also featured 2019 rent growth projections for America’s 30 largest multifamily markets, 19 of which are expected to see their paces of rent growth either decline or remain the same this year. Brokers who participated in Texas Real Estate Business’ annual forecast survey indicated that investment activity for multifamily assets in Texas should be more modest in 2019. This group ranked multifamily second among property types likely to experience a high velocity of sales in 2019, suggesting the new year could see more properties brought to market in anticipation of future elevation of cap rates. Numerical Context Most recently, the story on multifamily in Texas has been demand, …

February 1, 2019

Industrial Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Missouri

Will a Tight Labor Market Limit St. Louis Industrial Growth?

by Kristin Harlow January 31, 2019

The St. Louis industrial market is in the middle of a significant construction boom. Total square footage under construction is at a record-high 6.3 million square feet, with 2.8 million square feet of activity completed in 2018. The last two years have experienced historically high levels of overall net absorption with 4 million square feet in 2017 and 5.6 million square feet in 2016. These absorption levels are significantly higher than pre-recession market numbers. The expected 3 million square feet of positive absorption in 2018 is 1 million square feet higher than what had ever been recorded prior to 2014. A significant portion of this absorption is due to several large transactions in newly constructed, and often tax-abated, parks. Whether or not this level of construction and sizable deals is sustainable remains to be determined, but many trends within the economy indicate that this can continue. The vacancy rate for the St. Louis industrial market dropped to 6.21 percent in the third quarter of 2018, the lowest rate since 2006. This drop in available space bumped average direct asking rates up to $4.58 per square foot, the highest level since before the recession. Earth City and North …

January 31, 2019

Industrial Maine Market Reports Northeast Northeast Market Reports

Why Southern Maine’s Industrial Market is Headed for Rockier 2019

by David Cohen January 30, 2019

My mind wandered recently on a long drive, as it often does. I had the music going and, in typical Maine fashion, cell phone coverage was spotty. It was nice to effortlessly jump from thoughts of the upcoming holiday season with my young kids, to my 20-year high school reunion and old friends, to the promise of another long playoff run by my beloved Patriots. But as I passed commercial buildings and warehouses, my attention drifted to the bricks and mortar of the metro Portland industrial market. Here is what I thought as I hummed along to the hits: The Times They Are a-Changin’ Bob Dylan said it simply, and the statistics in our market suggest the same. The nearly eight-year run of a clear landlord’s market has finally shown indicators (albeit slight) that the pendulum is swinging the other way. While the year-end numbers are not yet complete, I am predicting vacancy rates will increase 200 to 300 basis points from our historically low 2017 rate of 1.25 percent. Let’s say, conservatively, our market increases to 3 percent overall vacancy. That is still what I would call a landlord’s market. However, what concerns me is that our added industrial …

January 30, 2019

Hawaii Market Reports Multifamily Western Western Market Reports

As Usual, Demand Outpaces Supply in Hawaii’s Multifamily Market

by Taylor Williams January 29, 2019

Hawaii’s multifamily market continues to achieve record pricing driven by strong local investor demand and notable institutional investors of larger mega deals at $100 million or above. This market is defined by limited inventory and prohibitively expensive new construction that leaves Hawaii with stable annual vacancy rates of about 96 percent. Hawaii has seen only modest increases in annual rental rates of less than 1 percent and relatively low rents for apartments in our market that pencil out to $1.75 per square foot to $2.25 per square foot. Despite these relatively anemic financial returns, enthusiasm remains for this sector. In fact, multifamily continues to reign as the most desired asset class for local investors with monthly transaction counts in the five to seven range and the most aggressive cap rates currently averaging 3.86 percent. The pricing results for multifamily have been stunning with per-unit sales prices ranging from $250,000 to $380,000, depending on the type of construction. The multifamily market demand drivers are not anticipated to change in the near term. While the island of Oahu reports average annual new housing demand of 3,500 units, only 1,500 housing units at most are approved annually. Paul Brewbaker, former chief economist for …

January 29, 2019

District of Columbia Market Reports Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Amenities, Transit Push D.C.’s Central Business District to New Heights

by John Nelson January 28, 2019

Investors have renewed their interest in office properties in the Washington, D.C. central business district (CBD) based on increasing tenant demand. The market is putting a higher value on the built-in amenities that exist in the CBD, like dining and entertaining options, transportation accessibility and architecturally timeless buildings. We can always tell the center of gravity of a city by where the brokerage shops locate. In D.C., CBRE’s latest move to the CBD from the East End puts all of the agency brokerage shops within feet of each other. With a healthy stock of historically significant, well-built office properties with value-add potential, the CBD is primed to continue its office renaissance. Transportation Infrastructure While the existing public transportation infrastructure in the CBD is an important factor driving businesses back to the submarket, shaving 20 to 30 minutes from commute times — whether by car, bus or train — is decidedly attractive to today’s employers. Combined with the variety of established dining, entertainment and hospitality options in the CBD, transportation is vital to attracting high-profile employers. The city’s law firms in particular have taken note. Over 20 notable practices have relocated their offices to the CBD in the last year alone. …

January 28, 2019

Hawaii Hospitality Market Reports Office Retail Western Western Market Reports

Hawaii’s Fundamentals Continue to Attract Investment Sale Interest

by Taylor Williams January 25, 2019

The Hawaii investment sale market was active in 2018 with an abundance of capital seeking investment opportunities throughout the state and across all product types. Mortgage availability from local banks and non-local financiers remained strong, and there was a steady flow of new interest from debt and equity sources looking for first opportunities in Hawaii. Last year’s transaction volume (including entity level) was up 33 percent from 2017 to $5.5 billion. Institutional and cross-border investment volumes were up from 2017 and performing well above the 10-year average. It was a slower year for private investors and REITs, though institutional capital from Singapore, Zurich, Kuwait, Germany and Japan were the foreign standouts in 2018. Entity-level activity boosted Hawaii’s transaction volume significantly in 2018. We anticipate this story to continue to spill over into Hawaii through 2019 as institutions deploy large amounts of capital to build scale. Brookfield’s acquisition of GGP was the largest entity-level transaction, which included the 2.5 million-square-foot Ala Moana Center with its two office buildings consisting of about 400,000 square feet, the Whalers Village in Maui and the Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo. The hospitality sector led the charge for the third year in a row with $2.45 …

January 25, 2019

Industrial Market Reports Oklahoma Texas Texas Market Reports

OKC Industrial Market Should Benefit From Rising Labor Costs Across Central U.S.

by Taylor Williams January 25, 2019

From a manufacturing perspective, Oklahoma City has historically been considered a “tertiary market” when stacked against South Central and Midwest power players such as Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Houston, Kansas City, San Antonio, Austin and Denver. As large manufacturing users consider multiple markets in the Central United States, Oklahoma City is often included in the initial list but typically fails to make the short list for various reasons. However, as labor costs rise, Oklahoma City may find itself being pushed to the front of the line. Past Misses Oklahoma City’s industrial market totals approximately 108 million square feet, making it a smaller market than DFW, Houston, Kansas City, San Antonio, Austin or Denver. Primarily driven by the oil & gas, aerospace and consumer goods industries, this market’s fundamentals tend to move in lockstep with oil & gas commodity prices. The city has tried to diversify the economy over the past decade and bring in non-oil & gas users. But there is still room for improvement. The metro has seen its share of growth; however, overall industrial construction still pales in comparison to larger markets. Growing Appeal The industrial booms seen in DFW, Houston, Kansas City, San Antonio, Austin and Denver over …

January 25, 2019

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