Southeast Market Reports

Pain Felt in Charlotte Retail Sector, But Phased Reopenings Give Market Hope

by John Nelson July 6, 2020

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 …

July 6, 2020

Industrial Market Reports North Carolina Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Charlotte Industrial Sector Shows ‘Signs of Life’ as Market Adapts to COVID-19

by John Nelson June 29, 2020

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 …

June 29, 2020

District of Columbia Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

D.C.’s Tax Rate Maze: An Imperfect System Has Increased Property Taxes for Many Real Estate Owners

by John Nelson June 15, 2020

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 …

June 15, 2020

Florida Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Miami-Dade County’s Industrial Market Sees Healthy Activity Amid COVID-19 Headwinds

by John Nelson May 18, 2020

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 …

May 18, 2020

Georgia Market Reports Restaurant Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Landlords, Retailers in Metro Atlanta Impacted by COVID-19 Seek Middle Ground in Lease Negotiations

by John Nelson May 6, 2020

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 …

May 6, 2020

Alabama Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Birmingham’s Apartment Market Starts 2020 Hot, but Coronavirus Impact Looms

by Alex Tostado April 13, 2020

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 …

April 13, 2020

Alabama Market Reports Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Birmingham Retail a Solid Bet Before COVID-19 Outbreak, and it Will Bounce Back

by Alex Tostado April 6, 2020

What a time to write an article on the state of the retail real estate market in Birmingham. A few short weeks ago this would have been a much easier task. The fundamentals of the Birmingham retail market are healthy and exciting despite the current health crisis and the fact that we have experienced very little population growth. I travel across the country regularly, and there is a national undercurrent about Birmingham that is exciting. Birmingham is spoken about nationally as a city with great food and quality of life, which are the types of things always said about a city prior to it hitting a tipping point. We expect that consumer behavior is going to be different coming out of the pandemic, and that the way retail and restaurant businesses operate will continue to adapt to that consumer behavior. Traditional developments Traditional shopping centers continue to be strong regional draws, with tenant mixes focusing on local and national brands. Lee Branch is one of the most successful in Birmingham. The Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy side-by-side concept opened in February at Lee Branch and is the first of its kind in the state. Discount retail, although not new, …

April 6, 2020

Industrial Market Reports South Carolina Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Upstate’s Infrastructure, Workforce Set Table for Future Industrial Expansion

by Alex Tostado March 30, 2020

In 2019, the Greenville-Spartanburg industrial market added an unprecedented 33 buildings encompassing 10 million square feet of inventory, bringing the total market size to approximately 211 million square feet. Despite record-breaking new deliveries, absorption has kept pace at 9.6 million square feet the same year. This market is preparing for future growth with delivery of available buildings and land sites, as well as investment in infrastructure and the overall workforce. With the increased supply of Class A speculative space, the market has seen numerous company expansions and relocations away from its Class B product type. New, modern space provides the efficiencies and amenities companies desire (i.e. above 32-foot clear heights). In order to service customers’ consumption preferences, companies are making capital investments into automated processes that allow them to stay competitive in a rapidly changing supply chain. One of the earliest signs of momentum in 2020 was the announcement of South Greenville Enterprise Park and its first user investment, Vermeer. South Greenville Enterprise Park is the first industrial park to deliver to the Greenville market in 10 years. Primary investment has been focused on the S.C. Highway 101 and S.C. Highway 290 corridors due to demand drivers such as BMW …

March 30, 2020

Market Reports Maryland Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Baltimore Retail Market Stands Tall, Poised for Another Solid Year Ahead

by Alex Tostado March 23, 2020

It’s gearing up to be another solid year for Baltimore’s retail industry. Thus far, the first quarter has shown few surprises and has largely been a continuation of the success the sector saw in fourth-quarter 2019. Rent has remained relatively flat the past two years, outside of a few developments that have delivered, and we’re expecting more of the same this year. After a small bump in the road five years ago, the market has stabilized and retail vacancy in the Baltimore metro region remains tight. With limited new supply coming to market, landlords are focused on backfilling existing space. Class A and B properties continue to show healthy leasing trends, while Class C properties continue to be the value options for mostly local retailers. Baltimore metro’s primary retail corridors — York Road, Reisterstown Road, the core of downtown Baltimore, Columbia, White Marsh and Annapolis — continue to thrive. We’re also seeing strong growth along Ritchie Highway from Pasadena to Glen Burnie, buoyed by a string of new store openings at the Pasadena Crossroads Shopping Center, which is anchored by Sprouts Farmers Market, Ulta Beauty, T.J. Maxx, DSW, LA Fitness, Party City, Hobby Lobby, HomeGoods and Gardiner Wolf Furniture. In …

March 23, 2020

Baltimore Multifamily Rent and Occupancy Forecast March 2020

Content Partner Lument Market Reports Maryland Multifamily RED Capital Group Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Underappreciated Multifamily Markets: Maryland Edition

by Jaime Lackey March 17, 2020

Although attractive multifamily investment opportunities may still be available in gateway cities, investors increasingly are sourcing deals in secondary markets where land and asset prices are lower, cap rates a bit more generous and an unpicked gem of value-add fruit can still be found on the vine by intrepid late-cycle buyers. Parties looking to replicate past successes may not have to look too far afield as Maryland markets — overshadowed of late by Washington and Philadelphia — offer much of what they seek with perhaps a lower degree of risk. In the last decade and particularly the last three years, the catalyst for economic growth in the Capital Area has shifted from government to high-tech services. As the tide turned, the focus of commercial real estate activity moved south toward Washington’s central core and Northern Virginia. In the process, the Maryland suburbs lost some of their star power. The diminished status of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties wasn’t entirely a matter of perception. Suburban Maryland apartment performance materially underperformed national averages in 2017 and 2018, and the spread widened between cap rates applied to Maryland properties on one hand and District and Northern Virginia assets on the other. Same-store property …

March 17, 2020

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