There are many things to be optimistic about in metropolitan Washington, D.C.’s multifamily market. Here are some facts to consider: — The D.C. metro multifamily vacancy averages 3.4 percent compared to the national average of 4.5 percent. — The D.C. region has seen $3.174 billion in multifamily sales activity year-to-date with an average cap rate of 5.2 percent. — Private investors are leading multifamily sales activity in the D.C. metro region and responsible for 64 percent of the deal flow. — Multifamily investment sales are up by 4.5 percent compared to the first half of 2015. — An influx of new workers to fill the 92,500 new jobs added in the last year has heightened demand for multifamily units despite an abundance of new supply. With a low unemployment rate of just 4.1 percent and job growth far exceeding the national average, and at its highest point since December 2000, the Nation’s Capital is humming with activity. Last year, D.C.’s multifamily market saw staggering amounts of new construction deliver with net absorption levels that surpassed all expectations. Many of the young workers are interested in an urban live-work-play environment ripe with amenities and relish the opportunity to decrease commute times …
At a time when the development of new retail power centers across metro Chicago has been at a record low since chain store proliferation first started back in the early 1980s, south suburban Cook County has suddenly seen a turnaround with the addition of two new freestanding Walmart stores and one new Meijer store. These three openings occurred within months of each other in 2016 and represent approximately 560,000 square feet of the 1.36 million square feet of new retail construction that opened across the greater Chicago market last year. The historical challenges for retailers attempting to operate stores in south suburban Cook County are no secret: out of control property taxes, often double or triple that of locations in DuPage or Will counties; a high sales tax; a shrinking population base; and a shift in retail spending to other markets. The cumulative effect was the January of 2015 closure of the Lincoln Mall in Matteson, located about 30 miles south of downtown Chicago, and increased retail vacancy rates in the area. Full-service grocery stores in the Matteson area also have been on the decline following the closure of Jewel, Dominick’s, Cub Foods and Walmart all within five years starting …
When you visit Los Angeles, the sight of the cranes looming in the sky in all directions shows a city undergoing significant revitalization and redevelopment. Not so long ago, the Downtown area of Los Angeles went “dark.” This occurred after the hustle and bustle of the normal workday was done and the streets were mostly empty, businesses closed. Fortunately, Los Angeles has seen significant construction and redevelopment over the past few years. According to the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID), the population of Downtown Los Angeles was 18,000 people in 1999. Today, the population is estimated at 63,208, with a daytime population of 500,000. The residential inventory consists of 36,964 units with 11,868 under construction and 19,054 proposed for a total of 48,832 units as of the third quarter of 2016. There are 8,163 hotel rooms with 2,765 more under construction and 3,636 proposed for a total of 14,564. Retail has 2 million square feet under construction and an additional 1.5 million square feet proposed. Major industrial activity includes the announcement of Warner Music Group relocating from Burbank to the Arts District where it will occupy 257,000 square feet at the former Ford Factory, which was constructed in 1912. …
The building height restriction — enacted in Washington, D.C. to preserve picturesque views of the United States Capitol Building and the Washington Monument — helps provide clear and exceedingly stunning views of the multitude of construction cranes that currently dot the vertical landscape of the District of Columbia. The majority of these yellow-steeled economic generators are being used to develop new residential and mixed-use projects, ranging from the NoMa district to the southeast Waterfront area and weaving through the neighboring suburbs, including Loudoun, Va., and Bethesda, Md. And, where new residential goes, supporting retail always follows, including the trendiest grocery store chains and hottest fast-casual and dine-in restaurant concepts. In addition, the area’s ever-expanding transportation network that provides a daily lifeline to D.C. and suburban workers is also paving the way for new retail opportunities as our Nation’s Capital continues to retain its reputation as among the most prolific retail locations in the country. Downtown Core Residential-only or mixed-use projects currently underway in the District are too numerous to mention, but here is a glimpse into the frenetic activity as there appears to be a bottomless appetite for new housing, particularly among Millennials. MRP Realty is developing the 1,600-unit Rhode …
The tale of two Ohio cities — Cincinnati and Dayton — is a story of growth. It takes less than an hour to travel between Cincinnati and Dayton. The two metros sit about 55 miles apart along Interstate 75, and that distance is slowly getting shorter. Since 2000, the cities have been growing together along the I-75 corridor, with significant growth over the past five years. The northern suburbs of Cincinnati have experienced exponential growth over the last 20 years stemming from the development of Union Centre Boulevard in 2000 in West Chester Township. Now, West Chester is the second largest community in the Cincinnati metropolitan statistical area (MSA). Only the City of Cincinnati is larger. Suburban growth is catalyst New developments continue to spur Cincinnati’s northern growth along I-75. In 2015, Liberty Center, a mixed-use retail, office and housing development, opened in Liberty Township north of the fast-expanding West Chester. The development is another example of a growing trend to bring urban-style amenities, such as live, work and play environments to the suburbs. Although much of the I-75 corridor is industrial, the growing suburbs led to the significant increase in the amount of office and retail space in the …
The Washington, D.C., metropolitan industrial market, spreading from Frederick County, Maryland to the north, Prince William County, Virginia to the south and as far west as Loudoun County, Virginia is ideally situated between I-95 and I-81 — major transportation corridors that allow shipments to easily reach much of the country. The industrial market has improved more quickly than other sectors and fairly dramatically to the point where much of the region can be described as land-constrained and under-supplied. Certain industrial sub-segments, such as data centers, have impacted the availability of warehouse and distribution space in key locations for optimal supply chain design. As of the third quarter of 2016, the area’s industrial market totaled 190 million square feet (inclusive of flex space), divided almost equally between the markets of Suburban Maryland (90.6 million square feet) and Northern Virginia (90.2 million square feet). The District of Columbia comprised 9.2 million square feet, and 1.5 million square feet was under construction region-wide. Approximately 4.2 million square feet has been absorbed year-to-date, and vacancy was 7.9 percent — a 250-basis point decrease from 10.4 percent reported as recently as year-end 2013. In comparison, the office market has ranged from 14 to 14.9 percent …
Without a doubt, 2016 was a year to remember for the Kansas City apartment market. Employers, builders, operators and investors all had an eye on the flourishing metropolitan area and contributed to its ongoing strength, leading to a 20-year high for apartment occupancy. But in order to assess if 2017 will be as fruitful, a review of how each of these groups fared in 2016 and an analysis of the current economic climate should be taken into account. Employers A healthy economy underscored by an active employment market generates a cyclical effect whereby employers seek talent, talent seeks housing, and developers seek residents. According to Moody’s Analytics, total nonfarm payroll employment in the Kansas City metropolitan area in 2016 expanded by 1.5 percent following a 1.3 percent increase in 2015. Virgin Mobile USA, to name one active area employer, relocated its corporate headquarters from Warren, N.J., to downtown Kansas City as part of the company’s re-launch of its new brand under Sprint. The long-term location for the new headquarters is undetermined, but temporarily at least 50 new employees now work out of the One Kansas City Place building at 12th and Main streets. By year-end 2017, Berkadia Research projects total …
A steady supply of job opportunities and the growing population in the Inland Empire are supporting household formation, raising demand for housing and bolstering the performance of the area’s multifamily property market. Nearly 22,420 households were formed in the Inland Empire over the past four quarters that ended in September, while 48,500 individuals were added to the local population. By year’s end, area employers will have expanded the workforce by 2.2 percent with the addition of 30,000 positions. Hiring this year was driven by the government sector, which climbed 4 percent, or by more than 9,400 workers during the past 12 months that ended Sept. 30. The trade, transportation and utilities sectors also performed well, contributing 8,950 jobs over the same period. These strong hiring trends resulted in the unemployment rate falling 20 basis points to 6.2 percent — nearing the pre-recession five-year average of 5.7 percent — over the year-long period that ended in the third quarter of 2016. The Inland Empire’s growth and solid economic fundamentals are key factors behind the observable rise in construction activity we’ve witnessed this year. Apartment construction is booming, and builders are expected to more than double the units that were brought into …
New Orleans may be The Big Easy, but when it comes to understanding this unique Southern city’s commercial real estate marketplace, very little is easy or simple. The numbers, at least, are fairly straightforward. New Orleans currently has around 8.8 million square feet of Class A office space and 1.6 million square feet of Class B. Average rental rates are approximately $19.00 per square foot and $15.50 per square foot for Class A and Class B, respectively, with current occupancy rates at 89.5 percent for Class A and 71 percent for Class B. By way of comparison, the popular suburban Metairie market has around 2 million square feet of Class A and 1.5 million square feet of Class B office space, with occupancy rates at 93 percent and 88.2 percent, respectively (both down slightly from 2014 highs of 95 percent and 92 percent). Average rental rates are approximately $24.00 per square foot in Class A properties and $19.50 for Class B. The numbers in the suburban North Shore market are similarly healthy, with rates and occupancy numbers in the same general range as Metairie. Look beyond the surface numbers, however, and things get interesting, and a little more complicated. In …
Nearly all of Kansas City is seeing a significant increase in retail and restaurant construction, with many new development projects now coming to fruition. Several of these new construction projects incorporate apartments and other types of entertainment, office or residential space above first-floor retail. Propelled by the recent opening of the streetcar and new apartment complexes across the city, retail in downtown Kansas City received a lot of leasing attention in 2016, according to CoStar Group. “More people are moving downtown for walkability and a taste of urban living, so retail positioned near the streetcar route or on the ground level of apartment buildings could see more demand,” wrote CoStar in its third-quarter overview of the Kansas City retail market. “In the area running from River Market down to Country Club Plaza, as much space leased in the first three quarters of 2016 as did in all of 2015.” Meanwhile, we are experiencing a number of projects where the traditional, older enclosed malls and retail strip centers are being torn down and redeveloped as mixed-use properties across the Kansas City retail market. Standout submarkets, corridors Annual deliveries in greater Kansas City averaged just over 1 million square feet per year …