Market Reports

Industrial Landlords in Texas Should Beware of Higher Property Tax Assessments

by Taylor Williams May 5, 2021

By Darlene Sullivan, partner, and Justin Raes, tax cunsultant, Popp Hutcheson PLLC While some commercial property types struggled to stay relevant in 2020, industrial real estate seemed supercharged by the pandemic. This year, tax assessors are likely to use strong investor and occupier demand for some industrial properties to support significantly higher assessments for all industrial real estate. They may see this as a solution to make up for value losses in the hospitality, retail and office sectors. That means industrial property owners should prepare for major assessment increases and begin building arguments to establish their properties’ true taxable value. E-commerce in Perspective If e-commerce was rising before 2020, it skyrocketed after the initial shock of the pandemic. The e-commerce share of total retail sales jumped to 16.1 percent at the end of the second quarter of 2020 from 11.8 percent in the first quarter and 10.8 percent a year earlier, according to the Census Bureau. As e-commerce grew, so too did industrial leasing demand, as online retailers secured spaces to process incoming goods and fulfill orders for shipment to consumers. The e-commerce operations driving the surge in demand brought with them a list of demands to serve their logistical …

May 5, 2021

Market Reports Multifamily New Jersey Northeast Northeast Market Reports

Multifamily Is A Force Multiplier in Northern New Jersey’s Economic Recovery

by Taylor Williams May 4, 2021

By Ken Uranowitz, president, Gebroe-Hammer Associates When it comes to investment in multifamily properties, as in life, change is constant. Between evolving tenant demographics and political climates to recessionary economies and a once-in-a-century pandemic, multifamily assets are continuing to prove their centuries-old knack for pivoting in times of change. Unlike any other commercial asset class, multifamily possesses an unrivaled level of agility rooted in its most-important attribute: People always need a safe place to call home. In good times and turbulent periods, apartment living offers a tremendous level of flexibility based on point-in-time needs. While past recessionary times may have had red-flag indicators of things to come, nothing prepared us for the rippling effects of COVID-19. This virus tested us in ways never seen before. Collectively, we found ourselves in uncharted waters due to the sudden and abrupt measures imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19. While these challenges are being addressed, with the passage of time, health and wellbeing remain paramount. In this regard, multifamily properties have played an integral role in providing tenants and communities with the most basic needs of shelter, a place to live and a place from which to telecommute for work or education. A …

May 4, 2021

Market Reports Multifamily Washington Western Western Market Reports

Multifamily Market Signals Stability in Seattle

by Jeff Shaw May 3, 2021

By Dylan Simon, Kidder Mathews As we left 2020 behind, we collectively hoped that turning the calendar to 2021 would stem to tide of COVID and bring about a V-shaped economic recovery. Alas, we enter this spring with many of the same hold-over concerns from a very rocky 2020. Thankfully, stability is right around the corner! A comprehensive and broad recovery may not be immediately recognizable, but there are signs economic stability is imminent for the Seattle apartment market. Big Tech is Getting Back to Work Big Tech evacuated urban centers in March 2020, taking with it urban-dwelling apartment renters. Apartment rental rates across Seattle, San Francisco and New York City plummeted more than 30 percent in the ensuing months. Once these “occupiers” return, that light-switch will once again flip in the positive-growth position. Facebook announced in March that it is reopening its Seattle offices. Just as Big Tech was quick (and smart) to shut down in-office operations at the outset of COVID-19, it will act similarly quickly (and intelligently) in reopening its offices. Expect the reopening trend to spread throughout Big Tech in a coordinated and swift fashion as that industry tends to know it is more innovative and competitive …

May 3, 2021

Hospitality Market Reports Texas Texas Market Reports

Let’s Get Real About Hotel Real Estate in Texas

by Taylor Williams April 30, 2021

By Steve Van, president & CEO, Prism Hotels & Resorts While 2020 was a trying year for companies in every industry, the hospitality sector has been really taking it on the chin. Restaurateurs and airline executives might disagree, but hoteliers have arguably had it worse than any other industry. The financial impact on the hotel business from COVID-19 is 10 times worse than the hit from the late 2000s recession — and that’s a very big deal. With the rate of business travel falling off a cliff and leisure travel down more than ever around the world, 2020 was a year that many hospitality executives would like to forget. But that doesn’t mean the sky is falling — or that brighter times aren’t in store. But what do those timelines look like? How should hotel professionals be managing the current crisis, and what are the real estate implications for investors? Let’s take a clear-eyed look at the good, the bad and the ugly and try and answer those questions by examining key trends and thinking about what’s likely to come next for hotel developers, operators and investors. Southern Sunshine One important caveat to the story of catastrophic hotel business drop-offs …

April 30, 2021

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Multifamily Ohio

Stable Columbus Multifamily Market Balances Urban, Suburban Growth

by Kristin Harlow April 29, 2021

By Ryan Duling and Andy Warnock, Lument Sizing up the Columbus, Ohio multifamily market is more challenging than it may seem to the casual observer. Neither fish nor fowl, Columbus doesn’t fit comfortably within the definitions of either growth or high-yield markets. Looked at from one angle, it appears largely suburban and conventional, but from another, increasingly sophisticated and demographically youthful. The presence of large institutions in the economic landscape — banks, healthcare systems, state government, universities — lend Columbus a slightly plodding image, but the heartbeat of the local economy is a dynamic group of middle market concerns punching above their weight class in logistics, professional services, retail and the digital spectrum. Metaphorically, it’s the cousin you considered a bit dull growing up who blossomed into an adult success. C-Bus’s relatively low population density, younger demographics and the relative ease of its transition to the work-from-home environment paid hefty dividends during the pandemic. Because infection and hospitalization rates were lower than average, the local economy was able to return to near normal in February, positioning the market to take full advantage of the stimulus-fueled economic recovery that could find its stride this summer. Labor market weathers pandemic Although COVID …

April 29, 2021

Market Reports New Jersey Northeast Northeast Market Reports Office

Tenant Negotiating Power, Flexible Work Routines Prevail in Central/Northern New Jersey Office Market

by Taylor Williams April 29, 2021

By David Simon, SIOR, COO, NAI DiLeo-Bram Having recently surpassed the one-year mark since COVID-19 reached the United States, we can now better assess the pandemic’s impact on our local office market. Reviewing a year of data and market activity helps paint a more detailed picture of where things stand currently and may be headed. The overall direct vacancy rate for the combined counties of Essex, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union New Jersey has risen 120 basis points since the start of the pandemic to 12.7 percent. Much of the space becoming vacant or available is higher-quality product; in fact the Class A direct vacancy rate has risen 180 basis points during the pandemic and is currently 17 percent. As a result, tenants looking in this segment of the market have a broad selection of high-quality office product. Sublet space has followed a similar trend to that of direct space, marking a 70 basis point increase since the start of the pandemic. More than 1.1 million square feet of Class A sublease product has become available during this period. Notwithstanding the statistics above, our firm recently completed over 28,000 square feet of office leases in Middlesex County, at 100 Metroplex …

April 29, 2021

Market Reports Mixed-Use Texas Texas Market Reports

Mixed-Use Settings Bolster Office Prospects in Texas

by Taylor Williams April 27, 2021

By Taylor Williams The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a shadow of uncertainty on both the short- and long-term fates of many office buildings, but mixed-use developers in Texas are hardly reluctant to continue to include this use in their projects. Philosophies behind mixed-use projects vary in terms of which components lead and which ones follow. Some developers view retailers and restaurants as the connective tissue that dots the networks and thoroughfares and that creates the walkable experience. Others see residential as the nucleus of the project that from the beginning provides critical mass and a user base for the retail and restaurant tenants during non-working hours. But in either case, the office use remains an important piece of the puzzle as a driver of traffic to retail during the nine-to-five window and as an impetus for leasing a unit at a nearby residential building. Overall Uncertainty No mixed-use developer professes to know when society will officially deem office buildings ready for re-occupancy, or the extent to which many large office users will continue to rely on complete or partial remote-work programs. But they remain bullish on the property type as it exists within larger projects that incorporate other key uses …

April 27, 2021

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Minnesota Multifamily

Twin Cities Multifamily: A Look Back, What’s Next for the Resilient Market

by Kristin Harlow April 22, 2021

By Ted Bickel and Jeff Budish, Colliers MSP At the start of the pandemic last spring, conversations with developers, investors and operators varied from discouraging to catastrophic. Everyone expected the worst. Luckily for the industry, that is not what happened. Amid a year of great uncertainty across the economic spectrum, the Twin Cities multifamily market showed a great deal of resilience, overcoming many challenges in 2020. 2020 recap Considering that the marketplace was nearly frozen for the second quarter of 2020, overall transaction volume for 2020 was surprisingly strong. Minnesota saw a considerable uptick in activity toward the end of the year, driving annual totals up to just short of $1.3 billion. A strong bounce-back in the second half of the year speaks to strong demand drivers and generally solid operating performance — even during the economic shutdown. However, while vacancies did not run up, as many had feared, collections and bad debt suffered. Understandably, many tenants struggled to pay rent as stimulus waned later in the year. This had a notable effect on net operating income. Overall, pricing did not change, while cap rates lowered to some extent. Inexpensive debt, particularly from the agencies, was a large factor in …

April 22, 2021

Affordable Housing Market Reports Multifamily Texas Texas Market Reports

Supply of Affordable Housing Plays Catch-up to Demand in Texas

by Taylor Williams April 21, 2021

By Taylor Williams The fundamental forces of job and population growth that drive demand for market-rate multifamily properties are hard at work on the affordable housing sector in Texas, and it doesn’t appear that a supply-demand equilibrium is in the cards anytime soon. In addition, a perpetual shortage of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) and other government-issued subsidies that are required to finance new development of affordable housing are working to keep supply growth in check. Throw in a global pandemic that has cost millions of people their jobs and depleted their savings, potentially forcing them to seek less-expensive housing, and you have a supply-demand dynamic that is far from balanced. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that there is some overlap between workers in industries hit hard by the pandemic, such as leisure and hospitality, and the types of renters who need or qualify for affordable housing. Texas is hardly the only state facing these lopsided market conditions. According to a 2020 report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, when it comes to housing that renters whose income levels are at or below 30 percent of their area median income (AMI) can afford, the United States …

April 21, 2021

Industrial Market Reports Texas Texas Market Reports

San Antonio Industrial Market Moves in Lockstep with National Trends

by Taylor Williams April 16, 2021

By Joe Iannacone, vice president of development, Titan Development; and Rob Burlingame, SIOR, CCIM, senior vice president, CBRE While industrial was a preferred investment vehicle prior to the pandemic, the impacts of COVID-19 have further cemented the property type’s place as the favorite asset class among investors. Newly implemented safety precautions related to COVID-19 have accelerated established trends toward e-commerce and delivery-based shopping. The pandemic has also exposed various weaknesses in the global supply chain, spurring predictions of a return to domestic manufacturing and processing of raw material. As more consumers have yielded to the convenience that e-commerce provides, investors of all types have acknowledged the strength of industrial fundamental metrics, causing demand to spike in the process. As a result, investors have spent the past year seeking existing and new industrial development opportunities to capitalize on what many see as a trend that will likely continue. The increased level of vaccine administration on the horizon has further accelerated this interest in industrial properties, with many experts predicting a return to somewhat normal living, working and shopping habits by the middle of 2021. On a more micro level, one subtype of industrial real estate — cold storage — could also …

April 16, 2021

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