By Mary Lamie, Bi-State Development The industrial real estate market continues to show its strength in the St. Louis region as new investments by industrial developers hold steady. Coming off a record year in 2022, with more than 7 million square feet of completions entering the market and 6.5 million square feet absorbed, the region’s new construction has leveled off a bit, with 1.1 million square feet of industrial space delivered so far in 2023 and 3.6 million square feet of space still under construction, according to the latest numbers from Colliers. Speculative construction rates remain high, with 65 percent of construction since 2019 being speculative builds. This growth in industrial construction is being fueled by national and regional developers who believe St. Louis has the industrial activity levels needed to drive construction investments. Data included in the “St. Louis Regional Industrial Real Estate Market Indicators & Workforce Report,” released by the St. Louis Regional Freightway in May, shows the St.Louis region now has 182 million square feet of space available. According to the report, the region offers the largest amount of manufacturing space available on the market compared to other Midwestern cities, along with one of the lowest triple …
Market Reports
By Ryan Kimura, senior vice president of strategic partnerships, Premier The changing landscape of work and the future of the office remains in flux, leading to a reduced demand for office space in major metropolitan areas throughout the country. This shift has rendered many office buildings underutilized and obsolete, prompting developers and investors to seek alternative uses for these structures. Simultaneously, urbanization continues to grow, fueling the demand for housing and a need for innovative multifamily solutions. Office-to-multifamily conversions provide an answer to both challenges, repurposing office spaces into much-needed residential units while allowing investors to capitalize on demand. This perfect storm of reduced office demand, increased housing needs and favorable regulatory conditions has driven the popularity of office-to-multifamily conversions, positioning them as a sustainable strategy for urban development. These conversions began to surge in popular metro areas during the height of the pandemic as uncertainty surrounded the return to the workplace. Fast forward three years later and office conversions are still booming — especially in the Dallas market. The region, which has witnessed some of the largest population increase in the country over the past five years, has also had a double-digit office vacancy rate in its downtown area …
— By John Wadsworth and Aaron Phillip, Colliers — The Orange County medical office building (MOB) market continues to show resilience post-pandemic despite headwinds of the new interest rate environment. The overall Orange County MOB market consists of 10 million square feet with a current vacancy of 8.5 percent, down 100 basis points from the end of 2022. The average rental rate is $3.48 per square foot, per month, full-service growth, with an increase of 9.3 percent from mid-year 2022. The lack of significant MOB construction completions, coupled with much of the existing vacancy found in older, functionally obsolete buildings, has kept supply largely in line with demand. The velocity of MOB leasing activity has softened compared to pre-pandemic transaction volume, with healthcare providers still digging out of the financial “COVID hole.” Among other market pressures, labor costs and retention across healthcare employment significantly contribute to continued narrow margins on provider balance sheets. From larger health systems to smaller independent practices, all have been impacted, slowing the pace of expansion projects and mandating shorter, more flexible transactions until more permanent real estate solutions can be implemented. Despite the market challenges posed by the pandemic, MOB absorption has remained positive countywide, …
Orlando remains one of the strongest multifamily markets nationally despite the slowdown being experienced in commercial real estate at large. Its strength is largely defined by growth in rent, supply, upcoming development opportunities, employment and the local economy, which have all contributed to healthy fundamentals. Being a top U.S. tourism destination has also helped with more than 74 million visitors coming to Orlando in 2022. Local tourism has created 212,000 jobs as of year-end 2021, and the city is home to nine world-renowned theme parks that are frequented by tourists. Orlando has also proven to be a very attractive and viable place to live long-term. The city is the fourth-largest in Florida, with an estimated population of more than 312,200 in 2023 and over 2 million within the metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The area’s population growth has supported multifamily growth opportunities, ensuring there is a vast renter pool and demand for the inventory that continues to be delivered. That has propelled rent growth up with submarkets like Colonial Town and Florida Center North, which are still posting year-over-year increases between 10 and 16 percent, significantly higher than the national average. Overall supply has also held up well with 6,103 units …
— By Andrea Nilson, Executive Director of Retail and Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield — National attention has been focused on the business growth, expansion and innovation in the Mountain West region in recent years — and Boise continues to be the region’s bright spot. Recognized as one of the best places to live and work due to its educated population and outdoor lifestyle, the area remains at to top of retailers’ site selection lists. Boise has also become a city of choice for restaurants, which has pushed the market to a new level of maturity and refinement. A strong blend of national chains, as well as regional and local restauranteurs, are anchoring several of the large, high-density apartment developments downtown, making this core truly unique and vibrant. The retail market remains on an upward trajectory based on key indicators. Low levels of speculative construction and strong demand will likely contribute to lower vacancy and higher rents for the remainder of 2023. Demand has outpaced supply by 30 percent over the previous 15 months. Boise was ranked No. 3 in annual population growth nationwide at 2.2 percent. It is projected to increase further, while its economy expanded at a rate of 3.4 …
By Tricia Pitchford and Amy Senn, Mid-America Real Estate A strong regional economy continues to propel the retail real estate market in Minneapolis heading into the fall. Unemployment remains lower than the national average, though up from last year’s remarkable sub-2 percent. New jobs are being created at a nice clip. At the same time, retail real estate space is tight, with limited new construction. Well-located spaces are being re-tenanted quickly. The same is generally true for B and C locations. Rents are flat to increasing. Higher construction costs continue to hamper tenant expansion. Although the macroeconomy is slowing, consumers are proving resilient, with a large appetite (pun intended) for quick-service restaurants and personal services, in particular. Where’s the most action? Suburban trade areas are seeing most of the activity across the metro area. Maple Grove, Woodbury, Edina and Roseville are among the strongest submarkets. A couple of urban trade areas, namely the North Loop warehouse district and Northeast Minneapolis, stand out for their growing appeal as arts, entertainment and dining districts. (Yes, we have hipsters in the Twin Cities.) Generally infill and redevelopment opportunities are more time-consuming and costly to execute than ground-up development, but that’s not stopping the …
— By Dan Minnaert, Partner and Industrial Specialist, TOK Commercial Real Estate — Industrial leasing activity has slowed year over year in Southern Idaho markets with total transactions down 9 percent. However, all markets saw transactions increase or remain flat from the first quarter to the second quarter. Net absorption has also remained positive in all markets throughout the first half of 2023. Activity is strongest in the Boise MSA with nearly 900,000 square feet of net absorption recording so far this year. Top deals for the year include Ferguson Enterprises leasing 164,600 square feet of new construction in Nampa, and Hensel Phelps Construction leasing 92,900 square feet at 535 Gowen in South Boise. Demand remains strongest for spaces in the 1,000- to 5,000-square-foot range, accounting for 51 percent of deals over the past 12 months. However, absorbed spaces above 15,000 square feet have increased 15 percent year over year. In addition, organic growth is the top driver for leasing activity considering 30 percent of deals over the past year were attributed to tenants opening additional locations or expanding. Additional new industrial tenants are expected to enter Southern Idaho, most notably in the Boise MSA as new projects such …
In January of 2023, the Memphis industrial market was coming off multiple years of record-breaking growth. However, mid-year we seem to be trending back to a somewhat normal growth pattern. The Memphis industrial market, which was fueled by the pandemic like many other markets, is finally beginning to normalize. Economic factors also influence the market as well. First and foremost is the uncertainty: uncertainty in interest rates, uncertainty in construction costs and uncertainty in when will we see some signs of stabilization. Many say we need to survive until 2025. Yet, the Memphis industrial market seems to have all the tools to handle this moment, and move forward. Memphis, located on the borders of Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, is known as “America’s Distribution Center” — boasting unparalleled expertise in distribution and logistics. With a central location, Memphis’ transportation infrastructure comprises the four Rs: runway, rail, river and road. Memphis International Airport houses the largest cargo airport in the world with the FedEx worldwide hub. Memphis is one of only three cities in the country that has five of the seven Class I railroads: Union Pacific/Southern Pacific, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), CSX Corporation, Norfolk Southern and Canadian National Railroad (CN). …
— By Colton Yasinski, Investment Sales Advsor, Capstone Cos. — The multifamily market in Idaho and, specifically, Boise, has experienced an impressive surge over the past five years. This has largely been fueled by the impact of COVID and the attractiveness of Idaho living. The result has been an unprecedented demand for multifamily housing, triggering a development boom that has reshaped the market landscape. In the past year alone, Boise has seen the delivery of 4,000 multifamily units with numerous ongoing construction projects. The city’s rapid population growth and robust housing demand has attracted institutional capital, leading to tighter cap rates similar to larger metropolitan areas. Pioneering developers have recognized the potential in Idaho’s market and entered the scene alongside local development groups. Among them are prominent names like Lincoln Property Company, Alliance Residential Company, Woodside Homes, Morgan Stonehill, American Homes 4 Rent and others shaping the multifamily landscape. However, amidst this growth, market dynamics have started to shift. Over the past year, multifamily sales in Boise have declined by more than 70 percent, accompanied by rising cap rates due to fluctuations in the capital markets. The surge in new units has transitioned the market from favoring landlords to becoming …
By David Berglund, JLL The Minneapolis-St. Paul industrial real estate market continues to show strength as tenant demand and leasing activity keep vacancies low and absorption steady. In the second quarter of 2023, there were more than 4 million square feet of leasing and 523,641 square feet of net absorption, which pushed vacancy rates down slightly to 3.6 percent. In addition, roughly 800,000 square feet of speculative development was removed from the market. Currently, there is just 2.7 square foot of available space for every square foot of tenant demand. Year-to-date absorption was nearly 2 million square feet, led by the Northwest submarket with nearly 1.3 million square feet of that total since January. The Northwest submarket has been leading in absorption in four of the past six quarters. Asking rents increased to $6.21 per square foot and first-year rents continued to climb to $9.13 per square foot, reflecting an 11.5 percent growth over 2022. With very low vacancy and limited supply coming, we are continuing to see favorable conditions for landlords in the Twin Cites industrial market. New high-water marks for rents will likely continue into 2024. Investment sales, however, tapered off significantly as the impact of several incremental …