As the retail sector continues to adapt and evolve to meet consumer demand for e-commerce and next-day or same-day delivery, industrial real estate will hold its place in 2018 as the top-ranked property sector. The property type has held this title for the past four years, according to the annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate study, conducted by PwC and the Urban Land Institute. The growth of e-commerce has been so rapid that the demand for industrial warehouse space has far outpaced supply in most markets for years. However, Emerging Trends also indicates that supply and demand began to come into balance in 2017 and will continue to do so in 2018. That balance gives users the opportunity to pay for industrial spaces that better suits their needs, as new buildings with increased technology and other amenities are popping up in prime areas. The growth of e-commerce has also created new demand for properties that were previously considered Class B and C industrial buildings, particularly those located along the “last mile” to consumers in urban areas. Basic Stats & Trends Current demand for industrial real estate in San Antonio is highly diverse. According to the latest report from REOC San …
Market Reports
Exciting times are in store for the senior living industry. A massive generation of baby boomers is entering the golden years of retirement and beyond, driving a wave of demand for seniors housing. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 78 million baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. The youngest boomers are 54 this year and the oldest are 72, so we are just eclipsing the front end of the wave. In 2029, just 11 years from now, all baby boomers will be at least 65 years old, with the vast majority beyond age 65. This group will represent 20 percent of the U.S. population, and that is when the wave may start to resemble a tsunami. Strength in numbers Demographers agree that circumstances are favorable for growth in the seniors housing market, and the real estate industry is responding. In the Twin Cities, market conditions are balanced with an adequate supply of seniors housing to handle the first groups of seniors moving in. At this time, we observe that the greatest demand is for independent living versus assisted living, memory care or skilled nursing. Overbuilding has not been an issue in the Twin Cities and most of the Midwest …
In its 2018 Emerging Trends in Real Estate survey, Urban Land Institute (ULI) named Nashville the No. 9 U.S. market to watch. Factors contributing to Nashville’s appearance as a top 10 market in ULI’s report for the past three years include a re-emergent downtown, strong population growth, market attractiveness to millennials and a low cost of living. These factors — along with game-changing urban retail developments and the creativity of its culinary scene — have elevated Nashville’s retail market over the last few years. As in its 2015 and 2016 reports, ULI once again refers to Nashville as an “18-hour city.” A defining element of an 18-hour city is a vibrant urban core with entertainment and dining attractions bustling between 7 a.m. and 2 a.m., well beyond the traditional business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Downtown Nashville is a hotspot for retail development, as the area continues to draw record-breaking numbers of crowds from tourists and locals alike to events, restaurants and conventions. From the Predators’ historic run in the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals to the 46th annual CMA Music Festival that brought $57.7 million in direct visitor spending to the nightly concerts at Ryman Auditorium, downtown is …
There’s no question that the San Antonio multifamily market has had the reputation of being the steady tortoise in a race against the more nimble Texas hares of Houston, Dallas and Austin. We all know how the fable ends — the hare, confident of an easy win, takes a nap while the tortoise secures victory. Could 2018 be the year that our “slow and steady” hero finds its place at the top of the Texas market performance? As it stands, the Alamo City is enjoying an apartment occupancy rate of 92.1 percent, which is flat on a year-over-year basis. But given the amount of new supply that entered the market in 2017 — a cycle-high 7,230 units — that’s a remarkable number. We ended 2017 with an average rent of $1.14 per square foot, which is flat compared to third-quarter figures, but that number still represents 3.64 percent growth from the $1.10 average from the fourth quarter of 2016. So what does it mean for the market’s immediate future? The San Antonio construction pipeline continues to be a focal point and as things progressed, there have been some surprises. While 2017 marked the cyclical peak for deliveries, and there has …
The retail sector in metro Minneapolis continues to adapt to changing consumer preferences, fast-moving economic opportunities and new state laws. Over the course of 2017, the retail real estate market showed positive growth in every category. Absorption of 1.4 million square feet surpassed the 1.3 million square feet of deliveries, according to CoStar Group. The rising cost of construction, low vacancy rate (3.1 percent) and increasing rental rates are creating new barriers to entry for retail businesses. The aforementioned factors, along with a newfound confidence in the rising economy, are causing landlords of all magnitude to become more selective with the quality of tenants they accept. Landlords will continue to become more reserved with regard to the tenant allowances they provide for new tenants. We have seen retail giants such as Walmart and Target add new services that emphasize both value and convenience and bring shoppers back for quick fill-in trips. Minneapolis-based Target Corp. announced the public rollout of its Target Restock program, a next-day delivery service for household essentials that is designed to compete with Amazon’s Prime Pantry. After being beta-tested by its employees, the program is currently only available in about nine markets, but plans are to slowly …
Nashville’s office market, frequently heralded as up and coming, continues to see a great deal of interest from both local and outside investors, and the region’s rapid population growth and low vacancy rates continue to sustain a construction boom. Even with a high influx of new projects highlighting local news, the Nashville area still maintains the lowest vacancy rates of any market in the United States, according to CoStar. Compared to the rest of the country, Nashville has the second highest employment growth and the highest office employment growth, combined with one of the lowest unemployment rates of any major metro area. These encouraging demographics lead most to believe that Nashville will continue its growth rate, especially in the urban core. Since the 1990s the Nashville market followed national trends, seeing most office market growth creep from the central business district (CBD) to the suburban submarkets. After the Great Recession began to subside, which around here was in 2011, an optimistic focus was placed on the growth of the CBD. This local storyline was buttressed by a national narrative of a return to urbanism. This growth, which really began its current unprecedented run late in 2011 and early 2012, is …
San Antonio is a testament to the old proverb that slow and steady wins the race. Instead of becoming overheated in response to the benefits of strong employment and population growth, the metro’s retail market continues to take a measured approach to growth. That approach has enabled an exceptional occupancy rate for its brick-and-mortar retail inventory. Development vs. Occupancy Measured, demand-based construction is one of the key reasons that San Antonio’s current retail market enjoys a near-record balance of supply and demand. Currently, the market’s overall occupancy is a healthy 94 percent. We expect this rate to be maintained as retail demand continues during a time of very limited construction of new retail product. The market’s limited retail construction of only 360,000 square feet this past year was dominated by H-E-B, which opened two new stores in 2017. The locations came on line either freestanding or with limited peripheral small-shop space, further tightening the market for available space. To illustrate exactly how low new construction is, we compared the current market to a decade ago, when the economy was in a similar cycle. The market’s occupancy at year-end 2007 was 91.2 percent, healthy but notably below the current 94 percent …
If you happen to read or listen to Freddie Mac officials, the key economic factor driving housing demand is the labor market. In 2017, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) secured 293 commitments from companies across the country to locate or grow in Indiana. Collectively, this will make for more than $7 billion in new investments and 30,158 new jobs in the coming years, marking the highest annual commitment in IEDC history. Companies currently expanding and adding thousands of jobs throughout the region have been contributing greatly to the growth of the multihousing market in central Indiana. More than 2,380 market-rate apartment units were completed in 2017. Construction doesn’t appear to be slowing down either, as over 2,200 units were under construction at the beginning of 2018. Apartment deliveries soar Central Indiana has experienced a marked increase in overall multifamily deliveries. Between 2014 and 2017, developers delivered approximately 15,000 new units, compared with 13,500 units over the previous 14 years combined. A large majority of the projects are greater than 100 units, particularly the market-rate developments. Lately, most of these projects have contained pockets of amenities or are located near amenities. Downtown Indianapolis was home to one of the more …
In 2017, newly signed bulk space deals in the greater Indianapolis industrial market totaled 10.2 million square feet. Of that total, over 50 percent had some affiliation with e-commerce. With 26 new buildings and another 5.7 million square feet under construction, the Indianapolis industrial market will clearly become increasingly linked to the performance of e-commerce as the total share of online retail sales remains in a significant growth mode. Projections by Cushman & Wakefield show that by 2020 nearly 12 percent of all retail sales will be associated with e-commerce — three times what it was 10 years ago. Stronger growth will be driven by the onset of e-grocery and e-pharma. Additionally, e-commerce will continue to be a driving force in these industrial deals because the online industry is getting better at what it does. Coming off the strongest holiday season since the Great Recession, companies are now focused on the cost of package returns and are re-examining the value of brick-and-mortar stores. When it comes to package returns, not only is the processing time significantly slower, but it is six times costlier to return a package using regular shipping methods. Returning items to physical store locations is the cheapest …
Nashville has set several notable records in recent years for job growth, rent growth, population growth, tourism and tax revenue, among others. But for the multifamily industry, the most notable benchmarks lately have been related to the amount of inventory that has been delivered. However, the more interesting and less obvious data point is the record level of renter demand that Nashville is currently experiencing. As of third-quarter 2017, Nashville led the country in relative net absorption, with 4.9 percent of the existing inventory being absorbed. This equates to approximately 6,300 units. This demand is fueled by incredibly resilient job creation, as Nashville has increased its employed labor force by 20 percent over the last five years — more than 160,000 jobs. With that as the backdrop, the big question on everyone’s mind is the impact of new supply. In short, yes, there are pockets of oversupply, with approximately 8,500 units delivered in 2017 compared with net renter demand of roughly 6,300. However, with urban deliveries projected to drop off 40 percent in 2018, and 80 percent in 2019, and no slowdown in renter demand on the horizon, the current imbalance is likely to correct itself in relatively short order. …