Market Reports

If You Build It, Will They Come? Indy Industrial Tenants Demand Smaller Spaces

by Kristin Harlow March 14, 2019

Recently, my national research colleagues released “The Top 10 Commercial Real Estate Trends for 2019,” a piece featuring predictions on subjects such as trade tensions, labor shortages and the evolution of “co-everything.” Of all the predictions, one stood out as being especially relevant for the Indianapolis industrial market as we inch further into 2019. Indianapolis has lacked industrial space for occupiers seeking to grow, particularly in smaller segments. The great news is that the market is well on its way to remedying this ailment. Demand causing shortage As we all know, the industrial sector is undergoing an e-commerce revolution. This has created a rush of demand by retailers and third-party logistics (3PL) providers for distribution and warehouse space, especially in cities like Indianapolis, which historically has been recognized for logistics strength. As a result, industrial market fundamentals have generally tightened across much of the United States. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the U.S. industrial vacancy rate fell to 4.8 percent, the lowest rate on record. Similarly, Midwestern markets currently sitting at 4.8 percent vacancy have experienced a 50-basis point decline in vacancy since the fourth quarter of 2017. Pair that with north of 111.5 million square feet of …

March 14, 2019

Market Reports Massachusetts Mixed-Use Multifamily Northeast Northeast Market Reports Office

Greater Boston Commercial Market Remains Robust

by David Cohen March 13, 2019

While other U.S. cities have demonstrated volatile economic markets, Boston has sustained a strong, healthy economy for more than 40 years. This economic health coupled with the city’s diversity of industries has had a lasting, positive impact and increased demand for commercial space in the greater Boston market. The snapshot of the Class A and B, lab and office market is strong but shows some signs of regression. Today, overall vacancy for lab and office including sublet space is 12.8 percent, according to research from Colliers International. When you break down the numbers by region, the current downtown Boston office market has 71 million square feet, with a 9.2 percent vacancy rate. Cambridge has 23.6 million square feet of space and 3.8 percent vacancy and the suburbs total 123.5 million square feet with 16.6 percent vacancy. The entire Boston area absorption for lab and office space is 5.2 million square feet. While those stats are favorable compared to the last two years, (2017 with 1.8 million square feet and 2016 with 1 million square feet), they are dwarfed by 2015 which had absorption of 5.8 million square feet. It is also the first time that Class B rents have topped …

March 13, 2019

Industrial Market Reports Texas Texas Market Reports

Quality of Labor, Land Availability Buoy Fort Worth Industrial Market

by Taylor Williams March 8, 2019

The DFW industrial market has enjoyed unprecedented growth over this seven-year development cycle. The market has added approximately 118 million square feet of industrial inventory over that period and absorbed 143 million square feet. Population growth in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex, the state of Texas and the south-central U.S. region, as well as growth in e-commerce, are the primary tailwinds propelling this extraordinary growth. Ever since Hillwood broke ground on AllianceTexas in the late 1980s, putting north Fort Worth on the radar of industrial users, the expansion in the Fort Worth industrial market has been an ever-increasing part of the overall DFW industrial market’s growth. However, the Fort Worth industrial market’s growth is really accelerating now based on the lack of available developable industrial sites in Dallas and the Mid-Cities. Further, when users and developers compare Fort Worth and southeast Dallas, the two areas with available industrial spaces and developable industrial land, Fort Worth’s advantages with regard to infrastructure, amenities, and most importantly, labor, stand out. As the area reaches peak employment, and with labor cost being the highest percentage of a user’s overall operational cost, the workforce factor has become the most important site selection criterion for users …

March 8, 2019

Indiana Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Retail

The Resilience and Importance of Retail in Indianapolis

by Kristin Harlow March 7, 2019

While Indiana is well known for the Indianapolis 500, the state’s economy is firing on all cylinders and experiencing noteworthy job growth. Indiana’s marketing campaign, “A State That Works,” has been successful in attracting investment to the state by touting its highly ranked business climate, competitive cost of doing business, pro-business tax climate, low cost of living, extensive logistical infrastructure and access to strong educational systems. In June 2018, Bloomberg ranked the Indiana cities of Elkhart (No. 1), Kokomo (No. 3) and Columbus (No. 13) for having the largest employment gains in the country since the recession. The Indianapolis metro area has created one of the nation’s top burgeoning tech scenes with a 68.1 percent increase in tech job growth from 2006 to 2016, landing No. 5 on Forbes’ list of “Cities Creating the Most Technology Jobs.” The state’s stable economy and encouraging unemployment rate have provided strength to the rapidly evolving retail industry. While national news is filled with retail bankruptcies and store closures, there has been tremendous retail activity backfilling vacancies and spurring new development from the following retail sectors: grocery, home living, health and wellness, beauty, fitness, off-price/discount, and dining and entertainment. Backfilling bankruptcies Following the bankruptcy …

March 7, 2019

Market Reports Northeast Northeast Market Reports Pennsylvania Retail Uncategorized

Millennials Catalyst for Retail Transformation of Center City Philadelphia

by David Cohen March 6, 2019

As consumer shopping habits continue to evolve and shoppers get younger, retailers are trying to strike the right balance between their online and physical presence. Those that find this omnichannel harmony are thriving in cities across the United States. Philadelphia’s Center City, in particular, is capitalizing on its booming millennial population and attracting retail concepts that cater to this group. According to Center City District’s 2018 State of Center City Philadelphia report, millennials make up 40 percent of Philadelphia’s downtown population, one of the highest percentages in all U.S. cities. With millennials moving into the peak spending years of their lives, Philadelphia is experiencing a multitude of development with most of the focus being on mixed-use. Mixed-use development, which combines retail and residential, and sometimes office, is attractive to the millennial generation who are driven by convenience and want the ease of living, working, dining, and shopping all in one place. The largest retail development projects Center City is seeing right now are happening in the Midtown Village neighborhood, which had been largely neglected until recently when it comes to large mixed-use developments. A few notable projects here are The Collins, a residential community that features 90,000 square feet of retail …

March 6, 2019

Market Reports Northeast Northeast Market Reports Pennsylvania Retail

Redefining Retail Real Estate in Philadelphia

by David Cohen March 6, 2019

When the Philadelphia Eagles were headed to the Super Bowl in 2018, they were the underdogs. The odds — and subsequently media headlines — were against them. But the team proved those predictions wrong, and went on to clinch its first championship. The retail market in Philadelphia, and nationwide, tackled similar challenges last year. As mature department stores shuttered and retailers filed for bankruptcy, the industry faced ongoing uncertainty. However, the rapidly changing dynamics represent vital opportunities for retail real estate owners to reimagine the mall experience. In Philadelphia, the high density of residents, workers, college students and visitors create a more than $1 billion retail demand annually, according to the Philadelphia Retail Report 2018 compiled by the Central Philadelphia Development Corp. In order to capture consumer interest, industry leaders need to evolve alongside the community’s changing needs and landlords and brands today have been transforming the conventional retail real estate model, carving a new path to success. Looking ahead, the future looks bright. Here’s a look at key trends driving the next level of retail real estate in Philadelphia. Innovative Concepts As habits of shoppers continue to evolve, brick-and-mortar space today can offer opportunities beyond traditional retail whereby real …

March 6, 2019

Market Reports Multifamily North Carolina Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Is Raleigh’s Multifamily Market Still a Strong Investment?

by Alex Tostado March 5, 2019

The short answer: absolutely. You don’t need to be a savvy commercial real estate professional to notice the impact multifamily has on Raleigh’s urban landscape. Areas like North Hills/Midtown, Downtown and Hillsborough Street are typically at the forefront of everyone’s mind when they think of new Raleigh developments, but it’s not just Class A development in the city’s urban core that has seen a boom. Class B and C suburban product have seen the most significant rent growth through the cycle that continues to increase each quarter. Moreover, we are seeing new construction intensify along our suburban corridors. It’s also no secret that Raleigh has one of the healthiest economies in the country. The Milken Institute reported recently that Raleigh ranks No. 2 in the nation for creating and keeping quality jobs. Economic factors like wage and employment growth, quality of life, proximity to higher education and a bustling tech sector have created a perfect storm of dynamic economic activity. Much to their chagrin, Raleigh natives haven’t done a very good job of keeping this a secret, and the number of fresh new faces coming to the Triangle continues to rise. In fact, the Raleigh-Durham market grew by nearly 60,000 …

March 5, 2019

Market Reports Multifamily Texas Texas Market Reports

Why Arlington Should Be on Every Multifamily Developers’ Radar

by Taylor Williams March 1, 2019

Our borrowers’ favorite question is, “Where should we build next?” As a lender specializing in financing Texas apartment communities, it’s hard to get the answer wrong. Our state is full of cities adding jobs and people at faster rates than the nation as a whole. As we drill down to help our clients differentiate between “good markets” and “good opportunities,” we focus on several factors including the current rental market, supply and demand and location. When considering these factors, the city of Arlington stands out as an overlooked “good opportunity.” It’s surprising how little attention this city of 400,000 in the middle of the metroplex has received from multifamily developers in recent years. Even as home to an ever-expanding General Motors assembly plant, one of the state’s largest universities, an entertainment district featuring two $1 billion stadiums, an extensive highway system, easy access to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport and a pro-growth local government, we haven’t worked with a developer yet that had Arlington on its list before we talked. Yet the selling points are obvious. Current Rental Market Overall, market-rate properties in Arlington show steady occupancy at 93 percent with average rents of $1.20 per square foot and annual …

March 1, 2019

Illinois Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office

Chicago Office: Fulton Market Isn’t in the West Loop

by Kristin Harlow February 28, 2019

Long before the emergence of Fulton Market, local real estate professionals referred to the West Loop as the office submarket between Wells Street and immediately west of the Chicago River. But today some also refer to the Fulton Market area, an area one mile west and across a natural boundary of the Kennedy Expressway, as the West Loop. So which is it? The West Loop is the leading — and by far the largest — office submarket in Chicago with over 50 million square feet of office space inventory. Its proximity to public transportation and wide setbacks along Wacker Drive and the Chicago River offer better view corridors and more access to natural light — key competitive advantages in an area that permits more buildable density than the periphery of the central business district (CBD). On the other hand, Fulton Market has its own distinct “edgy” identity that some area office tenants consider the antithesis of the Loop (recall that the original reference to the Loop meant the area surrounded by the Elevated CTA tracks, the “El,” that loops around the CBD). The West Loop proper has witnessed significant change in the last 10 to 15 years. The …

February 28, 2019

Market Reports Massachusetts Northeast Northeast Market Reports Office

Office Demand Holds Steady in Suburban Boston Markets

by David Cohen February 27, 2019

Boston’s metro west office market continued to move along at a steady clip in 2018. Many of the trends seen in the west market have been consistent over the past few years. One of the most prominent trends is that tenants continue to prefer high-quality properties. Class A product has benefited from the demand, resulting in a limited supply of Class A large blocks. In contrast, commodity space is still lagging from a demand standpoint. Additionally, many landlords have been performing gut renovations on older properties and have been reaping the rewards of their investments. The west market has also benefited from tenants migrating from Cambridge and life science demand, which are two closely related trends. Cambridge, particularly Kendall Square, is well known as the national hub of the life science industry. With that pedigree, pricing there has grown tremendously, and available space is scarce. As such, many life science occupiers are looking west to fulfill their needs, and the Cambridge market conditions have pushed other non-life science occupiers west as well. A proximity to the inner urban core makes towns like Watertown and Waltham particularly attractive. The above trends are not new, but one is. New economy tenants, who …

February 27, 2019

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