Despite a bump in big-box inventory in the wake of the A&P bankruptcy, the New Jersey retail real estate market continues to gain strength. Leasing activity remains robust, with strong suburban markets augmented by heightened urban activity. The inventory of properties for sale remains tight, while new development is highlighted by large-scale projects. This year’s major headline has been A&P’s bankruptcy. The sell-off of the grocer’s stores is ongoing, with Stop & Shop and Acme key bidders. Still, the stores remaining unsold are forcing landlords to think outside the box and/or redevelop their shopping centers, providing the opportunity to improve tenant mix and increase lease rates. Meanwhile, these immediate opportunities could slow down nearby projects in the works, including developments that could have come out of the ground in 2016 or 2017. Hot markets include Paramus, a perennial favorite. Also in the north, the redevelopment of Wayne Town Center has attracted Costco, Nordstrom Rack, Saks Off 5th, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and ULTA. In Bridgewater, Whole Foods signed a lease at Bridgewater Crossing, and negotiations are progressing with several major off-price and full-price specialty retailers. In Union County, Clark Commons opened with Whole Foods, LA Fitness, Home Goods, Michaels, Petco, ULTA, …
There is a popular song from the HBO show Treme written and performed by Steve Earle titled “This City Won’t Wash Away”. Ten years ago the wind and water of Hurricane Katrina threatened to destroy almost a third of the multifamily market in metro New Orleans. After a decade of rebuilding, the multifamily market has emerged as one of the most dynamic and resilient markets in the country. For 10 straight years this world-class city has seen strong demand, increasing rents and stable occupancy. New Orleans is not only unique in its food, music and culture, but also its geography. The Crescent City is situated on the bend of the Mississippi River with Lake Pontchartrain to its north and wetlands to the east and west. The ability to increase inventory in Metro New Orleans is seriously impaired by a lack of land, as well as historic and demographic factors. Over the past 14 years the multifamily inventory in metro New Orleans has only increased by 10,500 units, an average of only 750 units per year. Included in that number is the rebuilding of existing inventory damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Fifty percent of the increase of inventory has been in downtown …
Dallas is on a hot streak. This is the best market Dallas has seen in years. Companies are expanding and corporate relocations are driving new development in office, industrial and retail. Based on the healthy, active market of 2015, the momentum should carry over and remain strong through the first half of 2016. Office Dallas has become a headquarters hub in the past few years with companies like Toyota and Liberty Mutual putting down roots in the Metroplex. Companies are doing well financially and are growing, which is great news for the office sector. Leasing activity is at an all-time high with all sizes of companies experiencing growth. Office expansions and mid-term lease extensions are becoming the norm. In November, GEICO’s regional headquarters relocated to a larger facility with the goal of hiring nearly 200 employees before year’s end. The insurance company leased 224,000 square feet at 2280 Greenville Ave. in Dallas, brokered by Tom Lynn and Nick Lee, CCIM, of NAI Robert Lynn and Griff Bandy of NAI Partners in Houston. GEICO’s former headquarters building in the North Dallas area is now on the market. We’re also seeing the employment industry shift from focusing solely on clients to employee …
When talking about the retail sector, the economy has to be part of the conversation. Trends in retail concepts follow consumer behavior. In 2010, when the recovery began, wealthy consumers were the first to return to the marketplace. Not surprisingly, luxury retail concepts followed these wealthy shoppers. To appeal to consumers who were experiencing a slower recovery and to address the concerns of consumers who were still budget-conscious coming out of the downturn, discount retailers and off-price concepts also flooded the market at the same time. These two ends of the spectrum have dominated the retail landscape, leading to challenges for the middle-priced retailers. Despite the acceleration of the economic recovery, these retailers will continue to face challenges as many consumers have maintained a fiscally conservative, or even frugal, mindset. E-Commerce Has Clout The prediction that the advent of the Internet would spell the death of the brick-and-mortar store has not come to fruition. However, e-commerce’s impact on retail is certainly undeniable. Although 75 percent of retail sales still take place in stores, consumers are becoming more educated about products and prices as a result of the Internet. Consumer surveys show that 75 percent of millennials use the Internet to …
New Jersey and New York City employers have been expanding their ranks this year, allowing New Jersey residents to recognize new opportunities as economic growth in both areas continues to pick up steam. In Northern New Jersey, employment growth continues to follow a positive course as companies in New York City are attracted to the region’s lower operating costs and highly educated workforce. This year, companies are on track to add 29,000 employees, representing a year-over-year expansion of 1.4 percent. This will be the largest gain in jobs created since 2000. Job creation has been highest in the leisure and hospitality industry, as well as education and health services sectors, where 12,200 new jobs were created in the first half of the year. Newly employed professionals in search of affordable housing are opting for rentals in Northern New Jersey, where average rents can be half the cost of the greater New York City area. As a result of this growing demand for Northern New Jersey rentals, developers have expanded the pipeline of multifamily projects to more than 12,000 apartments with completions scheduled through 2017. Developers are on track to deliver over 7,900 apartments this year, representing the widest pipeline and …
For Newark, New Jersey, the well-documented trend toward urbanism and the emergence of creative solutions that position older properties to serve modern needs are creating strong momentum. At a time when leasing activity is ticking upward across the city’s diverse tenant base, it also is becoming clear that Newark’s superior data capacity positions the city to become a hub for tech start-ups and, ultimately, a national hub for the tech sector. For Millennials, Old is “In” According to new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, it is estimated that about 53.5 million millennials (adults aged 18 to 34) are part of the U.S. workforce today. Companies run by or interested in attracting millennials — whether focused on technology or any other sector — are gravitating to 24/7 downtown or urban locations. And they are seeking smart, collaborative work spaces. The result? Old is “in” — at least when it comes to tenant preferences for office space. At The Berger Organization, we are stripping antiquated fit-outs and tapping into the popularity of exposed ductwork, open floor plans and loft-inspired architectural elements. The resulting environments speak to modern desires and individual company cultures, while paying homage to their urban …
The New Orleans office market remains dynamic. The city has obviously changed dramatically in the 10 years since Hurricane Katrina and is on a continued path of change going forward. Positive change. In the past 12 to 18 months, more than 1 million square feet of what used to be considered office space in downtown New Orleans has been converted to retail, hotel, residential or multifamily use. Projects such as 225 Baronne Street, the 1100 block of Tulane Avenue, 600 Carondelet Street, Factor’s Row redevelopment and approximately 130,000 square feet of space at 1250 Poydras Street (a 423,000-square-foot, Class A tower) are just a number of examples. More of this space was unoccupied than occupied at the time of the conversions. The most recent of these conversions, 600 Carondolet Street, resulted in the largest absorption of Class A office space in the market. Additionally, URS, now AECOM, leased approximately 70,000 square feet of space in 1515 Poydras, a 530,000-square-foot building located across from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. In the central business district (CBD), Class A office occupancy is a healthy 90 percent and average rental rates have increased in the past 12 to 24 months to approximately $19 per square foot. …
Depending on who’s speaking, or what you’re reading, the forecasts for the 2016 Houston industrial real estate market run the full spectrum from bull to bear. Whether you are a landlord trying to fill a vacancy; a developer weighing the decision on whether to build or not; or an investor or a potential tenant looking for the best lease terms, your decision making is driven by a few key factors. These include the price of oil and where you think it is headed, the type of industrial facility you build/own/require, and in what submarket of Houston it is located. With current oil prices hovering in the low $30s per barrel, and threatening to go lower, you don’t have to look hard to find plenty of economists forecasting a rough 2016 for Houston industrial real estate. But that’s not the whole picture. No doubt the ongoing drilling downturn has hit the city hard. A recent survey was conducted of single-tenant manufacturing facilities ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 square feet in the West, Northwest and North Houston submarkets. The survey reported over 2.4 million square feet available in 120 buildings, with an additional 240,000 square feet under construction in 15 more buildings. …
The hotel industry has gained momentum over the last few years, with impressive increases in revenue per available room (RevPAR) and a continuing development boom in virtually all major markets across the Midwest and the nation. In the Chicago hotel market, RevPAR increased 7.2 percent in 2014 on a year-over-basis, according to STR Inc., and RevPAR was up 7.7 percent through the first 11 months of 2015. With consumer demand so strong and the development pipeline quite active, it might feel like the challenges of the last recession are long in the past. The reality, however, is that in a cyclical market the next downturn is never too far away. There are some indications that the ride may be slowing down and that the good times the region and the industry have enjoyed in recent years may be coming to an end. Oversupply Concerns While Chicago’s construction pipeline is smaller than a number of other metropolitan areas, it is the Windy City’s most robust development pipeline in recent memory. In aggregate, there will be a 20 percent increase in the room supply over three years. That could easily balloon to 25 percent with projects recently announced. This is very likely …
The Stamford, Connecticut, office market has everything going for it: proximity to New York City, a good transportation system, a wonderful quality of life, a superior public school network, great recreational possibilities being on Long Island Sound and great professionals. The one negative: almost zero growth in the state for the past 25 years in terms of both population and office-using jobs. This lack of growth has led to a very soft economic climate as it relates to office space. The vacancy rate for class A office space has hovered at more than 20 percent for the last seven years or more and has dipped below that only a few times since 1990. Vacancy Rate Favors Tenants In Fairfield County, the point of equilibrium is an office vacancy rate of approximately 15 percent. In other words, when the vacancy rate is 15 percent, neither landlords nor tenants have the upper hand in the negotiation of a lease transaction. In Stamford, the current vacancy rate resides at just over 23 percent — and that gives significant negotiating leverage to tenants that are looking for space. Interestingly enough, landlords of some of the better Class A institutional buildings are willing, and able, …