The San Diego apartment market is doing unsustainably well. About 400 buildings will sell this year, which is the average volume of the past 30 years. Sellers are obtaining prices near peak levels, while buyers are capturing cash flow twice as good as the stock market — and with less risk. There are three sources of buyers: cash that was sitting on the sidelines; investors who bought houses and condos at half price and are now ready to move up; and 1031 buyers. Investors are tired of going broke safely. Hundreds have had cash in the bank that was paying a pittance while inflation and taxes slowly dissolve capital. Apartments deliver cash returns that are two to three times what stocks offer. Additionally, over the past few years there have been more than 30,000 homes and condos sold at distressed prices. Many of those owners have doubled their equity and are ready to re-leverage their equity and trade up. This is creating a significant number of 1031 buyers again. It is not quite a chain reaction, but the ripple is helpful. Apartment financing is easy and interest rates are cheaper than they have been for 48 of the past 50 …
Market Reports
Another positive quarter in the Cleveland industrial market has developers asking themselves, “If you build it, will they come?” Due to a frenzy of leasing activity and positive net absorption in the second quarter, Cleveland’s industrial vacancy rate fell to 8.2 percent, with sub-7 percent vacancy rates in the Class A, high-bay warehouse submarkets. The turnaround has been dramatic. Saturated with more than 1 million square feet of vacant speculative space three years ago, the Cleveland industrial real estate market today is unable to support the continued growth of companies without some new construction. Space commitments from Newell Rubbermaid (650,000 square feet), ShurTech Brands (182,000 square feet) and National Business Furniture (100,000 square feet) indicate that although Columbus continues to supply the demand for e-commerce, Cleveland will once again be home to value-add manufacturing, assembly and local distribution companies. GOJO Industries (205,000 square feet) and Glazer’s (200,000 square feet) not only expanded, but also absorbed the last available big-box space in Cuyahoga County. Summit County will be the new focus of companies looking to expand or shift into more efficient space following the recent vacancies left behind by Suarez Corp. (350,000 square feet) and Mid-America Packaging (300,000 square feet), both …
Savannah has historically been known as an under-retailed market. Barriers to entry to the market have included expensive land acquisition and development costs, natural geographical barriers such as wetlands and rivers, oddly configured land parcels and stubborn sellers. Savannah is overcoming those barriers with authority as existing retailers expand within the market and previously nonexistent retailers enter. The unusual amount of retail development in an MSA of 360,000 people means Savannah is officially on the radar of quite a few retailers. Westside/Pooler Parkway The largest development within the area broke ground in early September and will be a big win for the entire Southeast. Ben Carter Enterprises commenced construction on The Outlet Mall of Georgia in nearby Pooler, comprising more than 560,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The outlet mall will house more than 170 retailers, of whom 70 percent are committed. The $200 million project will employ upwards of 2,000 employees, creating a boon for the local economy. A mix of luxury and traditional retailers is expected, of which 40 percent are reported to be new to the market. Also, 45 acres of adjacent land is being marketed for retail, restaurant and hotel site development. This project …
It's been quite a turbulent ride; however, recovery is underway. Although retail inventory in Eastern Massachusetts/Greater Boston showed only slight gains, the decline in vacancy more than made up for it. At year-end 2012, total retail inventory totaled 189.5 million square feet. The amount of retail space in the region has increased 13.1 percent during the past 10 years. However, the recession took a toll on new development, and we’ve seen only a slight gain of 0.1 percent in the past 24 months. This slowdown has benefited the retail environment by increasing the demand for existing space. Approximately 2 million square feet of unoccupied space was filled during the year, which brought the vacancy rate to 7.8 percent from 8.9 percent a year ago — the largest drop in more than a decade. As a result, the year ended with net absorption totaling 2.05 million square feet. There wasn’t much movement among the ten largest communities in terms of retail space, although Braintree replaced Leominster at number 10. Boston has the largest amount of retail space, of course, followed by Cambridge. Natick, Brockton, and Danvers complete the list of the top five communities in terms of total retail square footage. …
Speculative construction in Kansas City’s industrial market has exceeded the height of the last boom for a couple of reasons. On a macro level, the economy is improving, so it’s only natural that the local market would follow suit, especially given its logistical advantages. The development of intermodal facilities, the aging stock of existing product combined with no new construction in the past four years — plus a thriving automotive sector — are pushing this new wave of development locally. During the first half of this year, the Kansas City industrial market has absorbed more than 2 million square feet of space, driving down the vacancy rate to 7.5 percent, slightly lower than the historical average of 7.6 percent and down from the peak of 8.4 percent in 2011. We’re likely to experience an increase in vacancy during the next 18 months, however, as six properties totaling slightly more than 2 million square feet deliver. In fact, 2013 will post the most speculative development of the past decade, exceeding 2008’s total of 753,000 square feet. New Logistics, New Product One of the key demand drivers for the latest boom involves the more sophisticated approach to logistics on the part of …
Dallas/Fort Worth’s office market has experienced some of the strongest leasing activity in its history and will continue to tighten through 2013 as job sectors that demand space lead to record expansion. Additions to local office inventory should more than double this year compared with 2012. Meanwhile, pre-leasing has been steady, and its impact on the vacancy rate is predicted to be minimal. However, vacancy may start to inch up in 2014 as developers fill the pipeline with sizable speculative projects. Far North Dallas has become a draw for major corporate relocations, and therefore a hotbed for office development. This is due in part to the area’s relatively affordable housing and well-rated schools. Space slated for delivery this year in Far North Dallas has been largely spoken for, but the area is also home to one of the largest speculative projects underway, a 342,000-square-foot office tower scheduled to become available in late 2014. Office development has also increased in the Fort Worth area. That being said, near-term deliveries are expected to be light and limited to buildings less than 75,000 square feet, including some properties dedicated entirely for medical uses. Looking at both quarterly trends and monthly updates, healthy employment …
There is a buzz about New Orleans — no longer are only locals singing the virtues of this great American city. In fact, Forbes rated New Orleans the fastest-growing city since the recession in 2013, Bloomberg describes the Crescent City as “Boomtown,” CNN Money rated Louisiana as one of the most entrepreneurial states and Career Builder.com cited New Orleans as one of the fastest for wage growth in the United States. A spotlight has been shining on the dynamics of this market, and local, regional and national investors have taken notice. According to our most recent survey, rental rates in metro New Orleans range from a low of $0.80 per square foot to as high as $2.25 per square foot. Average monthly rent is $1.02 per square foot, and overall occupancy is at 93 percent. The geography of New Orleans is such that there are numerous barriers to entry, most notably the lack of available land to develop multifamily communities. As a result, the Downtown/ Warehouse District is experiencing a major renaissance whereby mid- and late-1920s office buildings are being converted to multifamily. Notable developments downtown that are under construction or soon to commence include The South Market, which will …
Seattle is a top-10 market nationwide for apartment and condo construction, and retailers are following residential growth back into the Seattle core market. In the first half of the 2013, nine apartment projects added nearly 1,300 units to Downtown. As of June 2013, 30 more residential projects were under construction or permitted, representing about 5,400 units. Projects (mostly apartments) are breaking ground at a quickening pace, with total construction costs for those currently underway at about $2.8 billion — a level not experienced since 2008. Many of the projects are mixed-use developments that contain street-level retail components. Almost half are located near Downtown Seattle. In 2012, three major retail renovations were completed in Downtown. This overhauling of aging retail space has continued into 2013. Nordstrom Rack now has a new 42,500-square-foot space in the Metro level of Westlake Center, which is directly across from the Nordstrom flagship store. Pike Place Market completed several renovations that cost close to $70 million. These included upgrades to the Market’s infrastructure and features. Target acquired 95,000 square feet of space in the Newmark building (Pike Plaza) and remodeled the retail space across three floors. This urban-concept CityTarget is roughly two-thirds the size of a …
Things are happening downtown. A number of public and private initiatives are transforming downtown Des Moines from a place to work to a place where you can truly live, work and play. Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield recently moved into its new 600,000-square-foot LEED Platinum-certified office building fronting the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park, and Principal Financial announced a $250 million renovation of its existing downtown campus. In addition, EMC Insurance Cos. recently added to its downtown footprint by purchasing the Hub Tower and Kaleidoscope at the Hub, the centerpiece of the new Walnut Street transformation. Finally, Nationwide Insurance is firmly entrenched in its 1 million-square-foot campus building. New Home For YMCA Adding to the momentum is a three-way sale and trade fueled by a public/private partnership spearheaded by Des Moines real estate leader William C. Knapp, chairman emeritus of Knapp Properties. Included is an approximate $30 million project for a downtown Wellmark YMCA to be located in the former Polk County Convention Complex. According to The Des Moines Register, construction is expected to begin by year’s end on the YMCA’s new downtown home, which will include expanded recreational offices and a 50-meter, Olympic-sized swimming pool. YMCA supporters …
On account of the diverse local economy and a tech employment base in high demand by global firms, the Austin industrial market has realized a recovery that should sustain continued rent growth with a healthier inventory delivery schedule over the next 24 to 36 months. Austin has added nearly 105,000 jobs during the economic recovery through May 2013, bringing total employment 9 percent above its previous peak in late 2008. The unemployment rate, at only 5.4 percent in May, is more than 200 basis points below the national average of 7.6 percent. The broad tech sector expansion, including new facilities underway for Apple and Samsung, and the strong housing market are driving robust growth in construction employment, while all three areas represent key supports for industrial tenant demand. On the heels of record net absorption in 2012 of 2.1 million square feet — an annual total not experienced in more than 15 years — industrial vacancy in Austin has fallen to 12.5 percent, a low not seen since the market’s peak in 2007. An important differentiating factor for the market today versus the 2007/2008 cycle is the limited amount of construction. When vacancy rates fell to 11 to 12 percent …