— 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 …
Market Reports
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 …
— By Gabe Kadosh, Vice President at Colliers in Los Angeles — Retail leasing activity in Los Angeles is robust. Demand is particularly strong in the home/furniture industries. The quick-service restaurant segment is another one that continues to grow, with a large uptick in demand for drive-thru accommodations. Now, for the good news — or bad news, depending on whether you’re a landlord or tenant. Los Angeles remains a tenant market. There is currently too much available retail space. Oftentimes, retail tenants can simply go across the street if they find a particular landlord’s rent — or lease terms — unfavorable. The current vacancy rate for retail in Greater Los Angeles stands at about 6 percent. Significant concessions and incentives are being offered in various regions of Los Angeles. Downtown Los Angeles is seeing the largest number of concessions. That’s because the office market has been shuttered so dramatically, thanks to the pandemic and the work-from-home trend that just won’t go away. This has caused some Downtown mixed-use office and retail landlords to offer base CAM or even no rent just to keep the doors open. In other cases, some retail tenants only pay a percentage of sales with no …
The Memphis office market posted 271,828 square feet of positive absorption in 2022, and that momentum has carried into the first half of 2023. Like most markets, Class A properties accounted for the majority of positive absorption, at 218,851 square feet. This trend has already carried into 2023, as Class A properties lead net absorption totals to begin the year. As a result of a strong year, the vacancy rate has fallen to 12.4 percent market-wide, an 840-basis-point decrease from the height of the pandemic. Additionally, sublease availabilities are less prevalent in Memphis than other comparable office markets. Currently there is 257,681 square feet of sublease space available in the Memphis market, which has a total net rentable area of 21.7 million square feet. The average among similarly sized Southeast markets is 422,624 square feet. There haven’t been substantial space additions to outweigh the below-average leasing activity thus far in 2023. The Memphis unemployment rate continues to trend downward to 3.2 percent in April, slightly lower than Tennessee’s 3.3 percent unemployment rate and the national rate of 3.7 percent. The tight labor market has increased demand in East Memphis, as tenants demand high-quality, highly amenitized buildings to attract and retain …
— By Kenny Houser and Mike Hale, Principals, Capacity Commercial — The industrial real estate sector has experienced a noticeable deceleration with a decline in leasing and sales activities. This trend is particularly evident in Portland where commercial property sales transactions have been steadily decreasing. There was a quarter-over-quarter decline of almost 29 percent in the second quarter of 2023, resulting in a sales volume of $3.4 billion, the lowest recorded since late 2014. The Federal Reserve’s decision to pause its rate hike campaign in response to inflation concerns has impacted the market. With borrowing costs fluctuating, the disparity between buyer and seller expectations has created challenges in determining agreeable property valuations. Simultaneously, leasing activity has also slowed, indicating a return to normalcy in Portland’s industrial market. Total deal volume in the first quarter of this year reached about 1.7 million square feet, a 35 percent decrease compared to the average of 2.6 million square feet per quarter over the previous two years. Despite the slowdown in leasing, the limited amount of industrial space under construction in Portland is expected to maintain a balance between supply and demand. The current construction activity accounts for 1.1 percent of the total inventory, …
By Jared Shapiro, Marcus & Millichap The commercial retail market is a consistently evolving landscape that plays a vital role in shaping our economy. With consecutive months of broad growth, health and convenience remain a priority for shoppers. With the combination of more households planning seasonal trips and underlying tenant demand remaining extraordinarily strong, the commercial retail sector has become the “darling of the industry.” As seen in the June meeting, the Federal Reserve took a rate hike hiatus for the first time since March 2022, which should lead to some stabilizing of the capital markets. Is the retail investment market poised for a growth and boom cycle? In short, the answer is yes. Currently, there is a lack of for-sale inventory on the market for multi-tenant shopping centers, which is creating a scenario where we are consistently seeing multiple qualified offers on deals that we are seeing in the market. As we are getting deeper into the summer months, the flow of 1031 exchange money will continue to grow. This will be a positive element for the single-tenant net-lease sector, as it has historically seen the most aggressive buyers of triple-net deals in 1031 exchanges. When viewed from …
— By Christopher J. Destino, Principal, Lee & Associates — The geographic area along the border of Los Angeles and Orange County is locally known as the Mid Counties market. This region currently boasts about 130 million square feet of industrial real estate, thanks to its prime location. This is a location that’s only 25 miles from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, and 20 miles from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Like many other parts of the U.S., Mid Counties has begun to see the effects of continued economic uncertainty and a rising interest rate environment. It faces challenges like land scarcity and limited newly constructed buildings to accommodate the growing demand. Thankfully, this area still typically delivers 200,000 to 500,000 square feet of new construction annually (2018 was abnormally high with about 2 million square feet added). One recent deal worth noting is the 94,000-square-foot, Class A industrial distribution building in Santa Fe Springs from Panattoni that leased to BeBella Cosmetics for $2.05 per square foot net per month with an option to purchase at $577 per square foot. Another new development example is the 146,617-square-foot building that Duke Realty developed and leased to Weee!, a …
It’s no secret: The multifamily real estate market in Memphis has experienced a significant decline in investment sales volume and total transactions over the past year. But with signs of life coming quickly on the horizon, how can you be ready to capitalize? According to CoStar Analytics, the 58.7 percent sales volume decline in Memphis is in line with the national average, but we have seen a larger dip in total transactions. The steep and rapid decline is directly correlated to the Federal Reserve’s ongoing battle of taming inflation. The Fed has increased the benchmark federal funds rate at 10 consecutive meetings. And while there was a pause at the June meeting, more rate hikes are expected this year. What does this mean for investors and operators? The cream will rise to the top. Some investors may default on loans due to floating-rate debt and the rapid rate increases, while others may struggle to refinance or sell without incurring losses as their cheaper rate caps expire. However, those that have executed their business plans effectively and added value to their apartment complexes by raising rents can expect some cushion. Another interesting factor to examine is the vacancy rate, which has …