The surge in demand for Birmingham’s industrial real estate over the last few years has resulted in the highest occupancy rates in over 20 years. Alabama’s level of business friendliness has created a strong economy and high level of job growth since the end of the Great Recession. Manufacturing is a key driver of job growth. Overall vacancy rates in Birmingham’s multi-tenant industrial market have fallen to around 7 percent, which is an all-time low. Average rental rates have crept up to approximately $4.25 per square foot, which is historically high for Birmingham but still significantly lower than rents in larger markets around the Southeast. In spite of the robust activity, there are no active plans for any sort of speculative multi-tenant developments in the market. The last project was the 90,000-square-foot Oxmoor Logistics Center located in the Oxmoor Valley submarket, which was completed in the fourth quarter of 2018. It is currently 100 percent occupied. However, there are over 2 million square feet of individual projects that will be completed before the end of 2019. One is a $1.3 billion expansion at the Mercedes-Benz Tuscaloosa plant, which includes a new body shop, enhancements to the SUV assembly shop and …
With more than 30 cranes in Nashville’s skies, it’s safe to say the Music City commercial real estate market is humming along. In fact, Davidson County approved $4.2 billion of commercial and residential construction permits in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, according to the Nashville Business Journal. Over the last three fiscal years, the county approved $11.4 billion in permits. While that’s an outstanding level of capital investment in a county with under 900,000 residents, it should be noted that Nashville’s MSA comprises 1.9 million residents encompassing 13 counties — all of which are experiencing record levels of construction permits. New companies coming to the city are driving the office market and construction demand, with several large announcements in the last year including Amazon, AllianceBernstein and Mitsubishi, and the city is continues to rapidly attract companies in the financial services, tech and healthcare industries. With a limited number of buildings available for adaptive reuse, most development taking place in the market is new construction. In fact, more than 460,000 square feet of Class A space was delivered in the third quarter of 2019. The majority of that figure was in Midtown and the Cool Springs/Franklin submarkets, with Aetna and Ramsey Solution’s …
The end of the second quarter of 2019 marked 120 consecutive months of U.S. economic growth, the longest on record. The steady climb in investment sales over the past few years has been fueled by record amounts of institutional capital and private equity, and office-using employment has reached an all-time high. By the end of March of this year, Florida’s private sector businesses had created over 208,000 jobs over the trailing 12-month period, and Orlando had reached 48 straight months as the state’s top location for job growth. Additionally, the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest figures indicate that three of the top 10 fastest growing cities in Florida are in the Orlando area (Kissimmee, St. Cloud and the city of Orlando itself). Altogether, there is $3.6 billion in multifamily construction underway or planned in metro Orlando, and all of this growth is fueling the need for improved transportation and logistics networks, as well as the corresponding commercial development taking place throughout the market. Finally, world-famous as a vacation destination, Orlando’s $70 billion tourism and travel industry continues to thrive with 75 million visitors during 2018 alone. Urban core grows Downtown Orlando’s renaissance continues, with a total of $2 billion in new …
The Orlando multifamily market may have an appearance of being oversupplied and on shaky ground, but it is actually thriving and has a long runway for growth ahead. The Orlando MSA has an inventory of approximately 165,000 rental units and about 10,000 units under construction. While that new supply approaches historical high-water marks, the lack of inventory of entry-level, single-family homes and the complexion of the household formation leads us to the conclusion that we are undersupplied in the multifamily space. That being said, within the overall numbers there is likely an oversupply of Class A inventory and an undersupply of workforce housing. Vacancies are hovering in the 6 percent range and rent growth has slowed to around 3 percent after having stronger years. The undersupply of workforce housing is being exacerbated by the value-add business model being employed on most of the Class B and C buyers over the last five years, catapulting the average rents and straining the ability of the working-class to keep rent as a percentage of income at a healthy level. Overall, single-family homebuilding is at a 10-year high, but still well below the pre-recession days. Permits are also soaring, but the makeup of the …
Orlando’s retail market happens to be a really good representation of the national market. By every metric, Orlando is doing well as both rental rates and occupancy rates have been increasing. Orlando is one of the fastest growing cities in America, adding roughly 1,000 new residents each week. Tourism numbers continue to climb with 75 million visitors in 2018, according to Visit Florida. Downtown is experiencing an economic resurgence with a new collegiate campus (more on this later). As a result of the city’s overall growth, Orlando is also experiencing suburban growth with noteworthy developments such as Lake Nona. However, it can be overwhelming in the sense that the industry and consumer demands continue to evolve. There are all kinds of new and different concepts so to be a player in today’s dynamic market, retailers have to be innovative. While there is news of retailers shrinking in size or filing bankruptcy, it is important to keep up with the evolving market and create retail concepts that are relevant to today’s consumer’s demands. One consumer demand is retail tourism, which is a hotspot for retail development, especially with Disney Springs, the I-Drive corridor and theme parks in the surrounding area. What …
Strategically located within a day’s drive of 50 percent of the U.S. population, the Richmond metropolitan area has experienced immense growth driven by increased millennial demand, arterial connectivity, a pro-business environment, low cost of living and overall high quality of life, cementing its position as one of the leading Southeastern U.S. markets for employment and capital investment alike. The Richmond market’s strong trajectory is attracting interest from new to the market capital sources, including Brookwood Capital, TPA Group and Ashley Capital, as well as significant corporate investment from the likes of Dominion Energy, Kinsale Insurances and Altria Group. The industrial market in particular has seen robust growth with reported user demand doubling year over year to nearly 6 million square feet as of July 2019 — an all-time high according to Colliers International research. The strength of user demand has resulted in the market’s high bay vacancy rate receding to 5.6 percent and significant speculative and build-to-suit development, including Panattoni’s recently completed Virginia’s I-95 Logistics facility that was 100 percent preleased during construction to Brother International and Amazon. With no shortage of user demand, Richmond’s industrial market is expected to remain a highly desirable market to invest as noted in …
With easy access to the James River, hiking trails and a burgeoning culinary scene, the Richmond region has won numerous accolades for its quality of life. The city remains a top destination for college graduates and young professionals, as well as families and retirees. Apartment demand is fueled by both a growing millennial population and increasing number of empty-nesters who are downsizing. Renters continue to seek accessible apartment communities that are highly walkable with comfortable amenities. As a result, both urban and suburban markets are experiencing an influx of rental demand. The Richmond apartment market continues to experience rising rental rates and interest from out-of-town investors. Apartment rents in Richmond have increased every year since 2012 but remain relatively affordable. The average effective rent reached $1,113 per unit after increasing approximately 3.8 percent over the past 12 months. Accordingly, developers and investors have responded to the steady demand and continue to be bullish on the Richmond market, especially for apartments. There are currently more than 4,000 apartment units under construction, marking a post-recession peak for construction activity. Apartment sales have accounted for more than 50 percent of all commercial real estate transactions during the first half of 2019. Additionally, institutional …
Virginia’s capital city added more jobs in 2018 than in 2017 and 2016 combined. The addition of 11,000 jobs in 12 months aided a 7 percent population growth since 2010 and a median household income increase of $10,000 since 2016. With only 2.9 percent unemployed, residents now have more disposable income to shop. Richmond’s rapid growth brought vacancies to the lowest they’ve been in almost 15 years. At 4.7 percent, vacancy is near the cycle’s lowest trough of 4.5 percent in late 2005. Grocery store competition and limited speculative construction are driving down vacancies. In January, Food & Wine magazine published that Richmond was “Secretly the Supermarket Capital of America.” Publix’s takeover of Martin’s gave the Florida-based grocer a foothold, and new Publix stores are coming by the fourth quarter of 2019 in Westpark Shopping Center, Swift Creek and The Village Shopping Center. Kroger retains the highest market share despite operating only 18 stores compared to Food Lion’s 48. At last count, Aldi stores number 11, The Fresh Market four and Lidl six. With only two stores, however, Wegmans is the per-store average sales leader. Besides grocers, other expanding big box users include Launch Trampoline Park, Burlington, Conn’s HomePlus and …
At the mid-year mark, the greater Richmond area industrial market has continued to strengthen, closing with an overall occupancy rate of 91 percent in the categories being tracked (Class A, B, C vacant and investor-owned product with a minimum of 40,000 square feet total RBA). Class A occupancy increased slightly from 89 percent at the end of the first quarter to 91 percent at the end of the second quarter, and the majority of the Class A vacancy is attributed to a vacancy approaching 800,000 square feet in the former Ace Hardware facility in Prince George’s County. Ashley Capital purchased the property in early July for $21.7 million and will be offering the facility for lease. Class B occupancy has also experienced an increase to 92 percent, up from 89 percent at the end of the first quarter. CoStar Group reports overall industrial occupancy at 96 percent for product of all sizes, including investor-owned facilities, but excluding flex space (minimum 50 percent office). Richmond’s strategic Mid-Atlantic location along Interstate 95 provides access to 55 percent of the nation’s consumers within two days’ delivery by truck. In addition to being the northernmost right to work state on the Eastern Seaboard, Virginia …
Continuing a trend that started approximately 10 years ago, the Central Maryland region remains an extremely attractive area for warehouse and industrial development with vacancy rates hovering in the 7 percent range, more than 3 million square feet currently underway and an additional 5 million square feet of space expected to break ground over the next 18 months. But new challenges are also starting to emerge in this marketplace, driven by barriers-to-entry such as land scarcity and increased government regulations. On the positive side, rental rates continue to inch upwards and end-user requirements in the 30,000- to 100,000-square-foot range, long the bread and butter of this region, have returned. Over the past decade, numerous local and national developers have been enjoying the high life in the Interstate 95 corridor spanning from Harford County north of Baltimore City, through Howard County and touching Prince George’s County, which is considered a suburb of Washington, D.C. A who’s who of retail royalty have signed substantial leases such as Amazon, Best Buy, FedEx, Floor & Décor, The Container Store, The Home Depot, Pier 1 Imports, Sephora Cosmetics, XPO Logistics and Under Armour. While many touched 1 million square feet of space, what previously was …