Market Reports

Texas Office Markets: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

by Taylor Williams May 11, 2018

From Dallas-Fort Worth’s (DFW) explosive rate of corporate relocations and expansions to Houston’s reliance on oil prices to Austin’s strong supply of tech talent, there’s very little common ground among the office sectors of Texas’ biggest cities. And whereas the pace of sales, development and absorption for certain property types — industrial, multifamily, self-storage — are strong across DFW, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, it’s the office sectors of these metros that truly capture their differences. The office markets of the Lone Star State’s four major metros each have a different story to tell — a narrative that speaks to their core demand drivers, as well as their projected performances for the rest of the year. In this piece, we take a closer look at the crucial factors underlying each of the Big Four’s office markets. DFW: Slowing But Stable The DFW office market isn’t as hot as its multifamily or industrial sectors, which are seeing record volumes of new construction and absorption, respectively. But the metro’s ability to create 100,000-plus jobs per year ensures that its strong office fundamentals can be maintained. The metro posted year-over-year rent growth of 2.2 percent, according to CoStar Group, right on par with …

May 11, 2018

Market Reports Michigan Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office

Investors Take Notice of Office Rebound in Detroit’s CBD and Suburbs

by Kristin Harlow May 10, 2018

Metro Detroit’s office recovery continues to steadily march forward. Local and national commercial real estate investors are showing a renewed appetite for buying and renovating existing buildings, and even developing new product. The City of Detroit has experienced the quickest recovery, going from near stagnant activity with a vacancy rate of 21.5 percent to a single-digit vacancy of 8 percent with multiple new developments in the past eight years, according to CoStar Group. Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures, invested in about 90 Detroit properties, totaling 15 million square feet, which kicked off Detroit’s rehabilitation. This prompted several other companies to stake an interest in Detroit’s Central Business District. The resurgence continues, and today numerous projects are in development that appeal to millennials and empty nesters alike. Most of these projects are situated on Woodward Avenue, which has been the center of the area’s rebirth. Within a few blocks of this avenue reside most of the renovated office buildings, the stadium district, new shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and cultural institutions like the Detroit Institute of Arts, Charles H. Wright Museum and The Detroit Opera House. Currently, there are several multifamily projects in downtown Detroit such as Midtown …

May 10, 2018

Alabama Market Reports Property Type Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Multifamily Projects, Experiences Redefining Birmingham’s Growing Retail Market

by John Nelson May 7, 2018

It’s no longer a secret that Birmingham and its surrounding communities are confidently moving forward, bursting with festivals, arts, concerts, parks, reimagined spaces and a red-hot local dining scene. These revitalized spaces represent opportunities to find affordable housing, a vibrant social life and a place where all can participate in the community’s ongoing progress. Tourism is also on the rise, with a 50 percent increase in expenditures over the past 10 years as visitors flock to the region to dine at the restaurants of culinary legends, cheer on Minor League Baseball teams in a downtown stadium, attend the Sidewalk Film Festival, watch IndyCar racing at the Barber Motorsports Park, visit the historic Civil Rights Museum and enjoy live music venues throughout the area. With all of its history, charm and new amenities, Birmingham is no longer a pass-through; it is the destination. The greater downtown Birmingham area experienced a 40 percent increase in its multifamily inventory in 2017, which is nearly three times the amount added in 2015. These spaces are filling up quickly as the submarket’s occupancy rate is currently at 92.5 percent and climbing. Everyone from millennials who are marrying later and waiting longer to buy homes to …

May 7, 2018

Market Reports Multifamily Office Texas Texas Market Reports

Downtown Renaissance Drives El Paso Office Market, Multifamily Growth

by Taylor Williams May 4, 2018

For decades, El Paso was a big, sleepy town nestled on the banks of the Rio Grande that relied on a slow-paced, but consistent economy. In those days, housing was always affordable. Pricing levels for single- and multifamily properties were below national averages, but so too were wages. The city’s office market, which has traditionally served as a leading indicator for multifamily growth, hummed along without ever experiencing strong asset appreciation or interest from outside investors. Taken at face value, this activity would suggest that there was a firm ceiling for new development and rent growth for both of these markets. In recent years, however, El Paso natives have seen their city experience enormous growth fueled by exceptionally low crime rates and expanding population at Fort Bliss Army base. Development of both single- and multifamily product really took off between 2011 and 2014, causing rent growth to subside and vacancies to rise from 5 percent a few years ago to roughly 9 percent today. The market returned to a more sustainable pace of new development in subsequent years. Looking ahead, the metro’s job growth should remain a factor of its population of military personnel and federal employees. As El Paso …

May 4, 2018

Market Reports Michigan Midwest Midwest Market Reports Multifamily

Surging Demand for Apartments in Downtown Detroit Is Testament to the City

by Kristin Harlow May 3, 2018

At a time when downtown Detroit is in the midst of a civic renaissance, the state of the city’s multifamily real estate market is both a reflection of larger trends and a sign of what might be in store for the Motor City in the years ahead. To keep a pulse on the market, Broder & Sachse Real Estate compiles a market study twice a year to evaluate the rental and occupancy rates of all multifamily properties downtown. Through this research, the continued strength of Detroit’s multifamily market is abundantly clear, with an average occupancy rate of 95.6 percent across downtown in winter 2018. This occupancy rate indicates demand is high, especially coupled by the findings in the Downtown Detroit Partnership’s third Greater Downtown Residential Market Study released in 2017. The study estimated that an additional 10,000 units will be needed over the next five years. The need for these additional 10,000 units means supply — or a relative lack thereof — is also part of the equation. While the number of residential units in Detroit has increased by a great deal on a percentage basis, in relative terms the volume of quality residential product is still somewhat limited. Today, …

May 3, 2018

Industrial Market Reports Property Type South Carolina Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Advanced Manufacturing, Logistics Activity Accelerate Upstate’s Industrial Growth

by John Nelson April 30, 2018

The Greenville-Spartanburg economy has a long legacy of being fueled by industrial activity. Today, the whole Upstate market continues to experience record levels of growth as it evolves into advanced manufacturing, automotive and distribution related activities. South Carolina is the largest exporter of goods on a per capita basis in the Southeast and has one of the highest densities of foreign direct investment per capita in the United States. The Upstate is the manufacturing center of South Carolina, with approximately 55 percent of the market’s 177 million square feet of industrial space classified as manufacturing. Due to the strong fundamentals of the market, manufacturing is expected to continue to grow. The metro offers manufacturers a pro-business environment, with skilled and affordable labor, a critical mass of industry and a solid transportation infrastructure with access to high population bases. Strategic Location The region is also becoming increasingly crucial to supply chains serving the East Coast and Southeast. The Upstate can reach over 95 million people within a day’s truck drive. With the continued proliferation of e-commerce, the Greenville-Spartanburg market provides an opportunity to mitigate transportation costs by allowing companies to leverage Inland Port Greer, which provides overnight service to and from …

April 30, 2018

Market Reports Retail Texas Texas Market Reports

El Paso Retail Market Embraces Entertainment Concepts

by Taylor Williams April 27, 2018

Compared to the four major MSAs in Texas, El Paso has often been overlooked by national and regional retailers. But times change, and interest in retail real estate in West Texas is at an all-time high. Major retailers that have taken space in El Paso are experiencing steady sales growth and expanding their footprints. Over the last couple years, we’ve seen new leases for major retailers, including At Home Furniture — which leased more than 100,000 square feet at its newest location — Ross Dress For Less, Tuesday Morning, Marshall’s and Sprouts Farmers Market, to name a few. Like the rest of Texas, El Paso’s economy is growing and strengthening. The city has posted a 3.7 percent unemployment rate to start the year, which is lower than the state (3.9 percent) and national (4.1 percent) averages. The city’s population continues to grow, driven by downtown office development, greater military spending (El Paso’s resident military base, Fort Bliss, houses tens of thousands of active duty and reservist military personnel, their families and civilian workers) and a reduction in crime in Ciudad Juarez, the sister city located just across the border. These forces have combined to imbue El Paso with a unique, …

April 27, 2018

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Multifamily Nebraska

National, Regional Investors Are Drawn to Omaha’s Apartment Market

by Kristin Harlow April 26, 2018

With asking rental rates increasing, an average vacancy rate of 5.7 percent and a low average asking rent per unit of just $855 per month, Omaha’s apartment market is increasingly attractive to national and regional investors. According to apartment research firm Reis, Omaha’s average asking rental rate has increased in every quarter for the past seven years, and is expected to increase by another 2.2 percent in 2018. While not stellar growth, it continues a steady march upward that has benefited owners in Omaha for quite some time. Driving the growth in rents is the balanced nature of the Omaha market coupled with Omaha’s strong underlying economy. From a population growth perspective, census data shows that Omaha’s metropolitan statistical area (MSA) has grown 1.2 percent per year since 2010, and is now estimated at 939,000 people. That steady trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, as Omaha’s population is projected to grow another 1.1 percent per year through 2022. In terms of absorption, Omaha has averaged an annual addition of 4,000 households over the past 10 years, according to Reis. Renters account for 34.3 percent of Omaha MSA’s housing units, translating to roughly 1,372 new renter households each …

April 26, 2018

Market Reports Office Property Type Southeast Southeast Market Reports Tennessee

Memphis Office Market Grows Its Existing Inventory by Nearly 6 Percent

by John Nelson April 23, 2018

Memphis ended 2017 with an overall vacancy rate of 14.8 percent, which is up slightly from where the year started at 14.5 percent — the highest level in three years. As the saying goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” and this especially applies to the Memphis office market. In 2017, 600,000 square feet of office space was absorbed. Developers also started 2017 with more than 1.2 million square feet of new office space in the pipeline, with 800,000 square feet delivered last year and the other 400,000 square feet expected to be delivered by the end of the first quarter this year. So within just six months, nearly 6 percent of Memphis’ total office market size was added to the overall available space. That is more new product being delivered than the city has seen in over a decade. Of this 1.2 million square feet, nearly 80 percent will come from adaptive reuse projects, where previously non-functioning properties located in non-core submarkets have undergone significant repurposing. The Sears Crosstown building was erected in 1927 as a 1.5 million-square-foot, mail-order processing warehouse and Sears retail store. The project was the largest building in Memphis at the time of its …

April 23, 2018

Industrial Market Reports Texas Texas Market Reports

Industrial Vacancy Tightens in El Paso Despite Heavy Construction

by Taylor Williams April 20, 2018

Trade and politics are nothing new for El Paso, Texas and its sister city Ciudad (Cd.) Juarez, Mexico. The history of the region is rooted in the interrelationship between two countries, three states and a trading route that originally ran from Mexico City to Santa Fe along the Camino Real. Today, international trade and political fights from elsewhere still have a considerable influence on what locals are talking about. But the regional industrial market continues to thrive by staying well below the radar. Despite concerns of imminent steel tariffs, restructuring of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the construction of an expanded border wall, the regional industrial economy keeps humming along, bringing the real estate market along with it. For industrial real estate tenants, the lure of a globally competitive workforce in Cd. Juarez and a link to the U.S. transportation infrastructure in El Paso makes this region a beacon for industrial users across the world. Triangle of Trade Take a two-hour drive along the loop highway circling El Paso, Cd. Juarez and Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and you will find an eye-opening list of international companies with industrial footprints. Foxconn from Taiwan, Polygroup from China, Bosch from Germany …

April 20, 2018

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