Market Reports

Austin Population Growth Supporting Continued Multifamily Market Strength

by Haisten Willis September 4, 2015

Since 2011, Austin’s multifamily market has become one of the strongest in the state and nation. With stable job growth, demand is projected to remain strong. Marketwide occupancy hovered around 94 percent at the end of the second quarter of 2015, with rents increasing at a 6 percent year-over-year clip. Austin and Travis County continue to rack up the rankings, with Thumbtack naming the area a top environment for small businesses and WalletHub naming it the best large U.S. city to live in. Headlight Data ranked Travis County the second fastest-growing financial services sector in 2014 and Austin came in as the number one city for startup activity on the 2015 Kaufmann Index. Generally, the first question on everyone’s minds is how long this bullish cycle will last. With the development pipeline running at historically high levels, what is the impact on today’s market and how does the future look? Apartment construction dropped off dramatically in 2010 and remained compressed until 2014. However, population grew incredibly fast during the construction trough, resulting in heightened demand. Today, there are 16,000 units in some stage of development with just over 10,000 expected to deliver in 2015. The difference between today and the …

September 4, 2015

Industrial Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Missouri

E-Commerce Drives Demand for Modern Bulk Distribution Centers in Kansas City

by Jeff Shaw September 3, 2015

E-commerce and business-to-consumer companies could overtake the automotive industry when it comes to driving growth in Kansas City’s modern bulk distribution segment of the industrial market. Auto suppliers filled the first wave of new space in the Kansas City industrial market. But now that those needs have primarily been met, new industry sectors are needed to fill the second wave of development. E-commerce and business-to-consumer companies could be the dominant users. These companies are capitalizing on the fact that 85 percent of the U.S. population can be reached from Kansas City in a two-day truck drive, according to KC Smart Port, a nonprofit organization that works to attract freight-based companies to the Kansas City area. Through in-house transportation studies, KC Smart Port is coming to the conclusion that it strategically makes sense for the distribution centers of e-commerce companies to be located in Kansas City. Recommendations from UPS, FedEx and third-party consultants also help e-commerce companies — located on both the East and West coasts — make that decision. Business-to-consumer companies operating a one-, three- or five-building model find that Kansas City works well logistically as it is in the middle of the country. Inherent Advantages Locating in Kansas City allows …

September 3, 2015

Market Reports North Carolina Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Charlotte’s Industrial Market Rides Wave of Absorption, Development

by John Nelson August 31, 2015

The Charlotte industrial market is extremely well-regarded by most national investors, with consistent rent growth, strong occupancy and increasing values. The fourth quarter of 2014 revealed the third-highest annual net absorption ever recorded in the Charlotte industrial market, continuing a pattern of growth that began in the fourth quarter of 2010. This continued recovery can be directly attributed to a combination of restrained development, expansions by existing space users, an influx of new companies and increased economic stability. Due primarily to geographic constraints and a high demand for land by all types of developers, there is a limited supply of large tracts suitable for industrial developments, which protects the value of existing properties. Air Support Industrial tenants are drawn to Charlotte for its strategic location along I-85 between Atlanta and the Mid-Atlantic states, as well as proximity to the Carolinas, southern Virginia and eastern Tennessee. Quality buildings are available at competitive prices in the region. Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) continues to be a significant economic development driver, and Charlotte’s distribution network will be further enhanced by Norfolk Southern’s intermodal terminal recently completed on 230 acres adjacent to CLT. The terminal will include two loading tracks totaling 9,056 feet, eight …

August 31, 2015

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Missouri Retail

Hungry to Expand, Fresh-Format Grocers Boldly Enter St. Louis Market

by Jeff Shaw August 27, 2015

Family-owned grocers Schnucks and Dierbergs solidified their position as the primary grocers across the St. Louis metro area when Schnucks acquired 57 stores from National Supermarkets in 1995. But after several years of these two chains dominating the grocery sector, an influx of fresh-format grocery stores is shaking up the market by offering shoppers fresh, local, organic — and in some cases more affordable — whole food choices. These new chains — typically half the size of traditional grocers — appeal to a younger customer, as well as those looking to supplement their grocery shopping or find items for special occasions. Consumers interested in the offerings of fresh-format grocers are willing to drive farther to shop at their stores. New Entrants Abound Fields Foods, a “homegrown” fresh-format grocer, opened its first location in the Lafayette Square neighborhood in January 2014. The newly constructed 37,000-square-foot, stand-alone building is just south of downtown’s central business district. The grocer markets produce provided by farmers within 100 miles of the store, and also features a wine bar and personal shoppers. This unique, full-service grocer is locally owned and was the first fresh-format store to enter the metro area. Fields Foods has plans to expand …

August 27, 2015

Arizona Industrial Market Reports Western Western Market Reports

Phoenix’s Industrial Market Offers Opportunity

by Nellie Day August 25, 2015

Owners, investors and developers are bullish about the Phoenix industrial market – and for good reason. We occupy one of the most strategic supply chain locations in the West – a sweet spot between West Coast ports, manufacturing in Mexico, and alongside truck and rail routes leading product into the heart of the nation. Add to this Governor Ducey’s mandate to grow Arizona’s trade volume with Mexico by 20 percent per year – not to mention Mexico itself being on the verge of becoming the world’s largest manufacturer – and you have a Phoenix market entering a new era of long-term growth. This has expanded our already robust industrial construction industry, where design-build is hot and will likely stay that way, thanks to the 8 million square feet to 10 million square feet of industrial requirements seriously considering Arizona for their location solutions. For energy-centric companies with high employee head counts in particular, Arizona offers as much as a 30 percent to 40 percent savings proposition over higher-cost Tier 1 markets. The West Valley has welcomed 10 million square feet of larger build-to-suit corporate projects looking for specialized footprints and visibility along I-10 in the past three years. These include …

August 25, 2015

Market Reports North Carolina Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Population Growth, Affordability Push Charlotte Office Market to New Heights

by John Nelson August 24, 2015

It’s no secret that the Sunbelt states have been, and continue to be, the front-runners for corporations looking to relocate to cities with a much lower cost of doing business. With each state taking different approaches, North Carolina does not often offer the relocation incentives that can be found in states such as South Carolina and Texas. Instead, North Carolina favors a system that offers less up-front cash incentives, but tries to offset that with a tax structure and business-friendly climate in an effort to compete for the large, attractive relocations. Because of this, the catalyst for growth in Charlotte has only been moderately associated with the recruitment of out-of-market users looking to relocate headquarters to more affordable and attractive markets. In large part, Charlotte’s growth has been driven by organic growth of existing businesses. In fact, more than 70 percent of the positive absorption in the central business district (CBD) since 2010 has occurred through organic growth. This expansion of existing business has provided for employment growth conditions that work hand-in-hand with the rapidly swelling population. In between new-to-market relocations that provide headline-grabbing bursts of employment, the diverse and impressive growth of Charlotte’s existing companies has attracted talent and …

August 24, 2015

Industrial Market Reports Multifamily Office Retail Texas Texas Market Reports

United States’ 16th Largest City Continues Fast Growth Post-Recession

by Haisten Willis August 21, 2015

As the 16th largest city in the United States and one of the fastest growing metro markets, Fort Worth is consistently a hot market in Texas and hasn’t slowed down post-recession. The current retail market is showing a low vacancy rate of 6.5 percent along with increasing rental rates. Surprisingly, these rates have not slowed leasing activity. Instead, the combination of increasing rates and dwindling vacancies have spurred new development. In years past, Fort Worth has been seen as a secondary market to Dallas, but with its strong economy and high returns, the city is now able to stand on its own. Fort Worth is seeing a lot of capital being tossed around the market. With a strong economy and low operations costs, money is pouring in from all angles, including from out-of-state and international investors. California, New York and overseas investors are beginning to recognize the stability of the city and the potential for stronger returns, and are aggressively starting to pursue opportunities here. For example, Iowa-based Lockard Development is in the process of expanding its Walmart anchored Renaissance Square power center at Berry Street and Hwy 287 in East Fort Worth to include more national credit tenants. Lockard …

August 21, 2015

Market Reports Michigan Midwest Midwest Market Reports Multifamily Retail

Why Today’s Development Wave in Downtown Detroit Has Staying Power

by Jeff Shaw August 20, 2015

Detroit is in a state of transition. It’s a process that has been simmering for some time, but really began in earnest about five years ago. This article discusses some of the property types, developments and neighborhoods that continue to reshape downtown Detroit and offers some insight into what the city might look like in five to 10 years. Fueled by a strengthening economy, there is an air of excitement in the Motor City, and the development climate is increasingly vibrant. The nexus of development and redevelopment activity is occurring in the same places — Downtown, Midtown, New Center — that were at the core of the city’s renaissance a century ago. In some respects, today’s Detroit is reinventing itself in the same way. Residential leads the way The foundation of Detroit’s development resurgence is residential growth. People are continuing to move to Detroit to work and to live — a trend that has accelerated dramatically in the last few years with downtown apartment buildings reporting upwards of 98 percent occupancy. It’s a phenomenon that shows no real sign of slowing down. It’s also an important and natural first phase. With residential comes the corresponding demand for dining, retail and …

August 20, 2015

Market Reports Nevada Retail Western Western Market Reports

Las Vegas’ Retail Market Stabilizes

by Nellie Day August 18, 2015

The Las Vegas retail market is transitioning from recovery to stability. Based on CoStar’s second-quarter report, the overall vacancy rate was 9.9 percent, a slight decrease from the 10 percent experienced at the end of the second quarter of 2014. The decrease is impressive considering the 2 million square feet in net absorption that occurred during this same period. Rental rates have continued to average around $1.30 per square foot, per month for the past 2.5 years, although we are hearing about newer centers achieving impressive rate increases. There was 822,512 square feet of retail space under construction at the end of the second quarter of 2015. Ikea is the largest retail project currently under construction in Southern Nevada, which is expected to open next summer. The second largest project is Tivoli Village’s 117,516-square-foot expansion. Restoration Hardware also signed a lease this quarter for 77,000 square feet at Tivoli. It is expected to take up occupy during the first quarter of 2016. Though private investors dominate the market, we are seeing more institutional investors who are interested in acquiring newly stabilized product. Cap rates have continued to decline, averaging 6.53 percent for 2015, compared to a 2014 average of 6.99 …

August 18, 2015

Florida Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Strong Demand Proves the Best is Yet to Come for Miami’s Multifamily Market

by John Nelson August 17, 2015

Miami’s multifamily market now ranks among the country’s strongest overall performers (if not the strongest). The city attracts, and benefits from, numerous tourists, investors, financial institutions, real estate funds, retailers and tourists from countries around the globe. The demand for condominiums and apartment buildings in Miami seems insatiable with the investors competing for increasingly scant deals. In practical terms, that means hotel and office developers often lose out across asset classes to the “ever-on-fire” multifamily sector. There is every indication in the first quarter of 2015 that Miami’s multifamily market’s upward trend will continue. Debt and equity continue to stream into the Miami-Dade County apartment and condominium sector from both local sources and out-of-area buyers attracted to solid asset performance and robust housing demand generators. Continued employment and population growth have bolstered housing demand as the overall Miami economy strengthened in 2014. The Miami metropolitan area added more than 30,000 jobs last year, and based on figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Miami-Dade County’s unemployment rate continued its downward trend to 5.4 percent in February 2015. According to the Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, South Florida’s population is expected to increase by approximately 29 percent between 2013 …

August 17, 2015

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