Market Reports

— By Kyle Seeger, Vice President, JLL — Like office markets across the U.S., Phoenix continues to navigate its post-pandemic “normal.” But with red-hot population growth, a comparatively low cost of doing business, a dynamic office inventory and a stellar quality of life, it also remains a prime contender for new office locations, relocations and expansions. Metro Phoenix’s overall office vacancy rate had ticked up slightly to 25.6 percent at the close of 2023. Average annual rent growth had decelerated moderately to 0.8 percent year over year, but remained positive. The overall direct asking rent had stabilized at just over $29 per square foot. Although negative absorption remained markedly high at more than 3.5 million square feet through 2023, there was less quarterly loss in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter. Amid all of this, Phoenix’s cost and demographic advantages — along with its ample inventory — pushed leasing momentum forward. In some cases, it even created positive net absorption, such as in prime office corridors and in newer, highly amenitized Class A projects.  The Grove, a 180,000-square-foot, Class AA office building in the Camelback Corridor, is a prime example of this. Within 16 months of its mid-2021 …

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By Louis Suarez, Misty Bowe and Brian Bruggeman, Colliers The Twin Cities medical real estate market has experienced many different phases over the last few years, reflecting the region’s journey toward post-pandemic recovery. Currently, this sector is experiencing a notable shift that is fueled by rising vacancy rates for on-campus hospital properties contrasted with a low vacancy rate of 4.9 percent for off-campus medical buildings.  This shift is significantly influenced by the push to outpatient surgery centers, ongoing financial pressures and consolidation trends. Additionally, experts in this region are predicting a scarcity of new medical building supply in 2024, which is expected to exert ongoing pressure on rental rates for existing medical office space, despite the stabilization of interest rates that is anticipated to come later this year.  As of the fourth quarter of 2023, the current construction pipeline consists of a mere 84,000 square feet, all of which is spoken for with no additional supply projected to come to market in the next year, which is a nearly 80 percent decrease year-over-year. The dramatic increase in interest rates, rising construction costs and capital constraints have pushed asking rents for new proposed projects to well above $30 per square foot …

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— By Zach Middleton, senior associate, The Klabin Company/ CORFAC International — Last year brought significant change to the industrial sector across the country. Orange County was not immune to general market factors that were influenced by a sharp rise in interest rates, growing vacancy rates, shallowing tenant demand and increased supply. Fortunately, Orange County remains resilient heading into 2024 due to its prominent geography harbored by major distribution routes along the 5 and 91 freeways, as well as the county’s proximity to the ports.   Orange County also proudly showcases one of Southern California’s most diverse tenant pools. This is spearheaded by key sectors like technology and innovation, research, healthcare and biotechnology, manufacturing and aerospace, consumer goods, ecommerce, wholesale and distribution, underscoring its economic versatility and potential for sustained growth.  Market breakdown: vacancy rate uptick still below historical average Current vacancy rates across Orange County are as follows: • North County – 2.4% • West County – 4% • South County – 3.5% • Airport – 2.5% Vacancy rates have trended upward but remain below the historical average of 4 percent.  A growing number of cheaper sublease options and the slight uptick in vacancy rates have influenced direct deal …

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By Stewart Lyman and Robby Davis of Stream Realty Partners Contrary to popular belief, the office market is not dying, particularly not in Nashville. While the market is facing headwinds from the interest rate environment and general economic uncertainty, Nashville has shown resiliency, bolstered by the city’s strong population growth, low unemployment rates, and a vibrant, diverse job market.  However, while flight-to-quality has been experienced well before the COVID-19 pandemic, the positive performance of top-tier buildings compared to the rest of the market has accelerated coming out of COVID-19. In 2023, Class A Tier I buildings posted 1.17 million square feet of positive absorption compared to negative absorption of 141,900 square feet and negative 32,267 square feet in Class A Tier II and Class B assets, respectively.  Top-tier buildings signed some of Nashville’s largest leases in the past year, such as Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for 75,000 square feet at Nashville Yards, Designed Conveyor Systems for 47,000 square feet at McEwen Northside and JE Dunn for 41,000 square feet at Neuhoff. In the urban core, two of the most high-profile new developments are Neuhoff (Germantown) and Nashville Yards (Downtown), both of which are elevating the tenant experience by delivering best-in-class …

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— By John Kobierowski, President/CEO, ABI Multifamily — Phoenix has experienced a surge in population due to its favorable climate, affordable cost of living and thriving job market. Since 2012, Phoenix has seen an average of 1.6 percent in population growth per year versus an annual U.S. average of 0.6 percent.  The city’s allure is particularly strong among young professionals drawn to its continued job growth and retirees seeking sunny skies.  This rising demand has translated into increased rental rates and occupancy levels over time, making the Phoenix market highly appealing to investors seeking stable and profitable ventures  To meet the rising demand for multifamily housing, developers have ramped up construction activities in Phoenix. There are 40,459 new construction projects planned for 50-plus-unit construction. The market has also witnessed an escalation in the number of new projects — 28,841, according to Yardi). These include luxury apartments, mixed-use developments and affordable housing options. These projects not only cater to professionals, but target Millennials and members of Generation Z, who are increasingly gravitating toward rental properties. However, ABI Multifamily outlook sees a substantial drop-off in completions starting at the end of 2024 through 2025 as a result of increased pricing in materials, …

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By Taylor Williams When it comes to industrial supply growth in Central Texas, the usual suspects — land availability, interest rate movement, time-consuming permitting and approval processes — are all secondary to the need for more infrastructural development to support these projects. Roadways, public transit systems, electrical capacity, sewerage and water services — these are the key ingredients in the recipe for successful industrial development in Central Texas that can sometimes be overlooked or understated in importance. As such, economic development corporations (EDCs) in the area are prioritizing infrastructure development in their work as they help developers add much-needed industrial space to support the area’s burgeoning population.  While underlying, efficient infrastructure is critical to all real estate developments and human occupation, it is especially crucial to industrial projects. Large-scale manufacturing facilities — think Tesla in East Austin and Samsung in its northern suburb of Taylor — employ thousands of people. Housing hasn’t caught up to population growth in many of the surrounding communities, necessitating alternate means of commuting. In addition, manufacturing and e-commerce facilities tend to have above-average electrical capacity requirements. Financially, meeting that demand might be made somewhat easier in a state that has a deregulated power grid, but logistically, …

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— By Brandon Banks, Managing Director, Midloch Investment Partners — A funny thing happened coming out of the COVID crisis. It’s not something I would have expected, but it makes sense. Perhaps it was just a question of when. For the first time since the Great Recession, some Western and Sun Belt markets have cooled to a point where value investors are seeing attractive investment opportunities in their midst. As is the case nationally, some of these deals are the result of higher interest rates and reduced proceeds pinching (if not punishing) over-leveraged sponsors that need to recapitalize their properties, but still the trend is apparent. I’m a native Westerner from the Sacramento area, and it’s almost by nature that we expect Western markets to grow faster than the nation as a whole. In fact, the West has seen largely nothing but high notes over the past 10 to 15 years. This includes consistently increasing asset values, low-priced capital, and supply and demand in relative balance, with a seemingly perpetual undersupply for some property types in many markets. Today, the West and Sun  Belt still shine brightly…generally speaking. But even in these areas, the post-COVID cooling has been pronounced. Some properties …

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By Tom Kolarczyk of JLL The overall U.S. economic slowdown, rising interest rates and the looming threat of inflation had a negative effect on all segments of Raleigh-Durham’s commercial real estate market last year — and retail was no exception. According to JLL research, there were just 11 retail trades over $5 million between January and December, totaling some $131 million in value. This is a notable drop from the 33 transactions recorded in 2022 valued at $582 million.  On the flipside, however, fundamentals remained incredibly strong with occupancies ending out the year at the near record-setting level of 98 percent. This led to leasing spreads of anywhere between 20 and 40 percent on new leases and helped flip the tables to favor landlords for the first time in decades, where getting space back is generally a positive.  Rents grew 3 to 6 percent in 2023, with an average year-end asking rate of $24.93 per square foot. This represents a year-over-year increase of 6.45 percent from 2022. While about 80 percent of all retail trades last year were acquired through private capital, an increasing number of REITs are becoming more active via mergers and acquisitions and strategic one-off acquisitions and …

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— By Anthony Lydon, Executive Managing Director, JLL — At $403 billion in annual gross domestic product, Arizona is now the nation’s 18th largest GDP economy, recently passing Minnesota and Indiana. With its expected growth over the next 24 months, the state is on track to become the nation’s 16th largest GDP economy, surpassing Tennessee and Maryland.  Like a shortlist of other fortunate U.S. markets, Arizona can credit a portion of this growth to its thriving logistics sector. The potential that industrial real estate offers for nearshoring — that commanding force with the power to rapidly diversify and expand a local economy. In Arizona alone, every $1 spent in the logistics industry has a $2 to $2.50 “multiplier effect” in the categories of earnings, revenue and jobs. The ability to capture that growth has been transformed in recent years by the CHIPS Act. This has provided, among other things, a 25 percent tax credit for investing in facilities that manufacture semiconductors or related manufacturing equipment. The Inflation Reduction Act has also provided more than $270 million in tax credits for clean energy projects involving solar, wind, hydrogen, carbon sequestration and EV charging. These programs played a role in attracting TSMC, …

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By Kellen Cushing, Carmody MacDonald PC Commercial and residential construction projects are inherently complex undertakings involving numerous parties working under tight deadlines and limited budgets. Change is inevitable and unpredictable in these projects, most often due to changes in project scope, incomplete or incorrect design, and unforeseen physical conditions.   When something doesn’t go according to plan, it can impact the other parties’ abilities to perform their jobs in a timely manner and lead to litigation. Claims and litigation can be costly, time consuming and stressful for all parties, and may damage the relationship and reputation of the parties involved. Proper contractual planning among project owners and contractors can reduce the likelihood of litigation. Making preliminary management plans and incorporating them into the project’s contracts provides effective ways to address changes that can occur during a project and keep things moving forward. While preparation cannot always prevent roadblocks in construction projects, preemptive planning can make for much smoother sailing, even in the face of unpredictable circumstances.     The best ways to avoid or minimize costly and time-consuming lawsuits include the following: Know your contract. Create a clear and comprehensive contract that defines the scope, schedule, budget, quality and responsibilities of …

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