The Memphis industrial market was off to another record-setting year for the third straight time. Then, the Mike Tyson punch no one could have ever expected came: the shutdown of the entire country. Even after sheltering in place for months and nonessential businesses out of the office until further notice, our industrial market is holding firm. The Memphis industrial market holds over 285 million square feet of useable space and offers the basic tenets for distribution. Memphis International Airport is the second largest cargo airport in the world. Additionally, Memphis is home to 400 trucking companies; it is the third-busiest trucking corridor (Interstate 40 spans from East Coast to California); it is one of only four cities to be served by five long-haul Class 1 rail systems; it has the fourth largest inland port in the country; and it has the second largest stillwater port. Memphis is also home to the FedEx worldwide hub and also houses UPS and US Postal Service hubs. All these companies operate 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Because of this, Memphis provides the most cost-effective distribution and logistics operations in the country. And in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and shelter-in-place …
Amid the uncertainty this year has brought, the Memphis office market’s fundamentals have continued to be stable through the end of the second quarter of 2020. Net absorption posted negative gains, recording 53,389 square feet of negative net absorption this quarter. While occupiers seeking rent relief was of minimal consequence, the steady demand allowed the total vacancy rate to decrease 80 basis points from the first quarter to 14.5 percent in the second quarter of 2020. Office tenants are continuing to pay rent on time, with less than 4 percent attrition on overall rent collection, which is no different than normal. In Memphis and the Southeast overall, leasing activity in this latest quarter was driven almost exclusively by near-term lease expirations. Similar to years past during various cycles of economic slowdowns, we are again seeing the overwhelming majority of new lease prospects limited to those companies who “have to” move, versus those companies that “want to” move. This is understandable, given the myriad of hardships caused by the pandemic and the limitation it has imposed on travel, group meetings and overall workplace usage. In fact, many companies have paused to assess their future space utilization, and whenever possible are delaying …
Like most markets, regardless of sector, Jackson experienced a moment in time when deals were shelved due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the industrial market in Jackson tells a different story in the early innings of COVID-19. While most deals were put on hold for several weeks in early April to mid-May, we saw activity pick up with users signing leases, contracting on vacant buildings and resuming due diligence timelines for land purchases, all without any repricing or discount. These trends, while hopefully permanent in nature, are all due to a lack of industrial supply and consistent demand in the Jackson market. If you have quality product in a good area, it will sell or lease, even during a pandemic. The Jackson industrial market spans around 40 million square feet if you include all specialty and manufacturing properties, as well as true warehouse and flex product. According to CoStar Group, the market’s vacancy rate is hovering around 7 percent, but it feels tighter since there’s a bulk of obsolescent product — either low ceiling heights or being in less desirable areas. Jackson is considered a minor industrial market and is well-suited for future growth. As Mississippi’s capital city, Jackson is …
As one of the largest owners and operators of office space in the Charlotte market, Northwood Office is focusing on what office users want — safety, quality, productivity, flexibility and a sense of community. The firm’s largest asset is Ballantyne, a 535-acre campus featuring 4.4 million square feet of Class A office space situated in the heart of a 2,000-acre community. Ballantyne is home to 17,000 employees and 300 companies. While the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the landscape for office space, Ballantyne is well-positioned to deliver what employers need in the current environment. “The benefit of working close to home is more appealing than ever, and Ballantyne’s location near the Carolinas border and public transportation options make it accessible for everyone,” says John Barton, president of Northwood Office. “However, Ballantyne’s hallmark is its abundant open space. Always our differentiator, its value takes on a whole new level in a post-pandemic world.” Northwood Office’s priority is the safety and well-being of its customers and team members while also maintaining its buildings at the highest level. The company assembled a task force to prepare and adapt for a phased re-entry to office buildings. New operational procedures underway include ample signage instituting social …
The COVID-19 outbreak had a tremendous impact on retail across the country, and Charlotte was no exception. As stores were forced to close, business owners had to devise creative ways to operate during the pandemic. Rent deferral, Paycheck Protection Program funds, layoffs and furloughs were some of the ways owners addressed cash flow. Many restaurants faced questions regarding takeout, delivery service, menu adjustments, table spacing and employee safety. Enhanced cleaning procedures, payment procedures, marketing adjustments and general overall operations were other issues facing many restaurants and retailers. Restaurants with drive-thrus and takeout, as well as ones capable of adding “COVID-19-friendly” delivery options, were able to remain open, albeit with decreased sales volume. Despite all efforts, the trickle-down effect will likely cause several restaurants and retailers to permanently close and not survive this downturn at all. As Phase I and II of North Carolina’s economic reopening went into effect and additional stores began to reopen in some capacity, retailers began to adapt to new ways to operate with safety protocols in place. As a result, more discounts and flash sales were offered, and curbside pick-up became a prevalent way to shop. The next six months should reveal how the COVID-19 pandemic …
Like many Southeastern markets, the Charlotte industrial market largely hit the pause button from mid-March until June due to COVID-19. While the impacts of the health crisis remain fluid, the market is showing some signs of life, and trends that have long been at play are not likely to be reversed. For the past 90 days, the market has seen a significant drop in leasing and sales activity. The market was a bit sluggish in 2019, but experienced good activity in the first quarter prior to area shutdowns. Asking rents rose 5 percent year-over-year to $4.81 per square foot as new space is being added to the market at a higher price point. That rental rate is a record high for the Charlotte warehouse and distribution market. Most of the recent growth has occurred in the Cabarrus County, Stateline and Airport/West submarkets. Developers continue to fill demand for modern e-commerce, third-party logistics and general distribution space. Additional deliveries will keep upward pressure on vacancy in the near-term, but overall conditions should remain healthy thanks to strong economic tailwinds and Charlotte’s proximity to key East Coast transportation corridors and population centers. Absorption declined significantly over the past 12 months, from 5.3 …
By Sydney Bardouil, Esq. If you own or manage real property in the District of Columbia and are wondering why your real estate tax bill has gone up in recent years, you are not alone. One common culprit is rising assessed value, but that may not be the main or only source of an increase. A less obvious contributor may be a new, different, or incorrect tax rate. Since tax rates vary greatly depending on a property’s use, staying diligent when it comes to your real estate’s tax class and billed rate is critical. The District of Columbia applies differing tax rates to residential, commercial, mixed-use, vacant and blighted properties. Why is this important? Because the classification can make a considerable difference in annual tax liability – even for two properties with identical assessment values. For example, a multifamily complex assessed at $20 million incurs a tax liability of $170,000 per year while the same property, if designated as blighted, incurs an annual tax liability almost twelve times greater at $2 million. Therefore, the assessed value is just one piece of the puzzle. Keeping a sharp eye on a property’s tax bill for the accuracy of any tax rate changes …
The Miami-Dade industrial market saw a prolific year in 2019, followed by a healthy, yet slower first quarter in 2020. PortMiami’s record-shattering fiscal year 2019, with cargo operations posting 1.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and cruise passengers totaling a world’s best 6.8 million passenger total, correlated with the robust warehouse and distribution demand the market experienced throughout 2019. There was a 9 percent uptick in South Florida industrial investment sales, and developers delivered 5.6 million square feet of product to Miami-Dade County. Industrial completions in 2019 exceeded the all-time high set in 2018, and the local inventory expanded by nearly 3 percent. In first-quarter 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic began to unfold and cause widespread global challenges, the flow of cargo continued to meet essential needs from medical supplies to food, while all cruise lines voluntarily ceased sailings. In addition, after a strong start to the year, COVID-19 caused construction to pause and dimmed demand from space users that service hard-hit industries such as tourism and brick-and-mortar retail. The unprecedented boost in e-commerce, grocery, and medical supply distribution currently drives the industrial sector. Leasing remains solid despite roadblocks Overall industrial vacancy in Miami-Dade is at 4.33 percent, up from …
The financial impact the COVID-19 economic shutdown is having on tenants and landlords is a difficult mix of immediate drastic reduction (or elimination) of revenue, along with little or no ability to forecast when the end will come. This combination of severity and unclear duration makes finding potential win-win compromises a real challenge for tenants and landlords in the metro Atlanta area. While deal pipelines across the industry have ground to a halt, companies, teams and individuals are using this sudden influx of time as an opportunity to take up important tasks that, while not producing revenue, will set up future opportunities. They are catching up on conversations, expanding their networks, engaging with social media, doing industry research, continuing their professional educations and learning new skills. Landlords, on the other hand, are having to take this challenge head on and are testing the waters with solutions like pause agreements, rent deferrals (in many cases, equivalent term is added at the end of these leases) and other creative ways to provide relief to their tenants while not endangering their own interests or those of their lenders. There’s no certainty that these issues won’t have to be addressed again, periodically, as the …
The Birmingham multifamily market demonstrated its evolving strength last year. Continued job growth and limited apartment inventory led to the area reporting its highest occupancy rate in 10 years (94.8 percent) and monthly effective rent advancing 1.8 percent annually to $984 by year-end. In the early months of 2020, we did not see any slowdown in terms of deal volume. Due to rising concerns around market volatility and ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, we are faced with uncertainty in terms of how the local Birmingham area, along with the rest of the country, will perform in the year ahead. It is difficult to predict market activity, but Birmingham has demonstrated positive trends worth noting. Catching investors’ eyes In recent years, the area’s employment growth and strong fundamentals have piqued investor interest. Out-of-state groups are increasingly venturing into Birmingham. This trend has led local developers to emphasize merchant-builds, actively constructing and redeveloping properties to fill this competitive demand. Off-market transactions have recently seen an increase in frequency as investors are able to be more aggressive on pricing, which is enhanced by this unprecedented interest rate environment. Across all asset classes, the Birmingham market has enticed investors with a variety of …