Southeast Market Reports

Advanced Manufacturing, Logistics Activity Accelerate Upstate’s Industrial Growth

by John Nelson April 30, 2018

The Greenville-Spartanburg economy has a long legacy of being fueled by industrial activity. Today, the whole Upstate market continues to experience record levels of growth as it evolves into advanced manufacturing, automotive and distribution related activities. South Carolina is the largest exporter of goods on a per capita basis in the Southeast and has one of the highest densities of foreign direct investment per capita in the United States. The Upstate is the manufacturing center of South Carolina, with approximately 55 percent of the market’s 177 million square feet of industrial space classified as manufacturing. Due to the strong fundamentals of the market, manufacturing is expected to continue to grow. The metro offers manufacturers a pro-business environment, with skilled and affordable labor, a critical mass of industry and a solid transportation infrastructure with access to high population bases. Strategic Location The region is also becoming increasingly crucial to supply chains serving the East Coast and Southeast. The Upstate can reach over 95 million people within a day’s truck drive. With the continued proliferation of e-commerce, the Greenville-Spartanburg market provides an opportunity to mitigate transportation costs by allowing companies to leverage Inland Port Greer, which provides overnight service to and from …

April 30, 2018

Market Reports Office Property Type Southeast Southeast Market Reports Tennessee

Memphis Office Market Grows Its Existing Inventory by Nearly 6 Percent

by John Nelson April 23, 2018

Memphis ended 2017 with an overall vacancy rate of 14.8 percent, which is up slightly from where the year started at 14.5 percent — the highest level in three years. As the saying goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” and this especially applies to the Memphis office market. In 2017, 600,000 square feet of office space was absorbed. Developers also started 2017 with more than 1.2 million square feet of new office space in the pipeline, with 800,000 square feet delivered last year and the other 400,000 square feet expected to be delivered by the end of the first quarter this year. So within just six months, nearly 6 percent of Memphis’ total office market size was added to the overall available space. That is more new product being delivered than the city has seen in over a decade. Of this 1.2 million square feet, nearly 80 percent will come from adaptive reuse projects, where previously non-functioning properties located in non-core submarkets have undergone significant repurposing. The Sears Crosstown building was erected in 1927 as a 1.5 million-square-foot, mail-order processing warehouse and Sears retail store. The project was the largest building in Memphis at the time of its …

April 23, 2018

Market Reports Multifamily Property Type Southeast Southeast Market Reports Tennessee

Stability Will Be Defining Characteristic of Memphis Multifamily Market in 2018

by John Nelson April 16, 2018

Consistency is key, and that’s exactly why investors find Memphis more attractive than ever: the Grind City’s financial and commercial real estate stability. The area has grown into a hub for both the distribution and transportation industries. As the largest economic driver in the state, Memphis International Airport alone injects over $20 billion a year into the region’s economy. Thanks in large part to FedEx, the airport has become the second-busiest cargo airport in the world. FedEx’s presence creates a secondary demand from all retailers as they want to have a large distribution presence in the market. Going High-Tech Marketable growth in the Memphis economy extends beyond the distribution and transportation industries. Sizable expansions at University of Tennessee’s Medical School, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Methodist University Hospital and LeBonehur Children’s Medical Center, as well as the migration of medical device manufacturers such as Smith & Nephew and Medtronic, show how Memphis is not only the Home of the Blues and global shipping, but also a high-tech healthcare hub for the Mid-South region. All this growth has helped propel Memphis’ millennial population, especially 20- to 34-year-olds who make up a high percentage of the city’s workforce. Last year, Memphis marked …

April 16, 2018

Industrial Market Reports Property Type Southeast Southeast Market Reports Tennessee

Memphis Industrial Market Closes Out 2017 With Strong Wave of Absorption

by John Nelson April 9, 2018

The positive momentum for the Memphis industrial market continues. For the previous three years, the market has had positive absorption every quarter. This momentum continued through 2017, where we saw an annual net gain of 6.6 million square feet of positive absorption. Memphis has not seen this type of multi-year, record-breaking performance since the early 2000s. Achieving year-over-year absorption volume at this level proves Memphis can continue to attract both new developers and investors. Given ideal geographical positioning, Memphis is known as America’s Distribution Center, boasting unparalleled expertise in distribution and logistics. The Memphis International Airport houses the second-busiest cargo airport in the world. Companies recognize that the Memphis MSA offers reliable, cost-effective distribution, with the ability to reach 70 percent of the U.S. population within 24 hours. Moreover, Memphis is one of only three cities with five Class I Rail Systems, and has the fifth-largest inland port, as well as 10 major trucking companies utilizing Interstates 40 and 55. It’s no wonder that FedEx World Hub makes Memphis its home, and UPS chose it to house a major hub. Southeast Submarket The Memphis market continues to see nearly all of its growth to the southeast into Fayette County, Tennessee, …

April 9, 2018

Market Reports Maryland Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Sustained Job Creation Translates to Excellent Health of Baltimore Office Market

by John Nelson April 2, 2018

It is a simple formula: No metropolitan region can achieve extended economic growth without a healthy job market that is sustainable over the long-term. The greater Baltimore region has been able to accomplish just that — especially over the past two years, starting when a new governor was installed in Maryland. The State of Maryland’s rallying cry “We’re open for business” is putting its money where its mouth is with the generation of more than 135,000 new jobs since the start of 2015, and the state unemployment rate dipping to 3.8 percent, which makes it substantially lower than the national average of 4.4 percent. As an official with the Maryland Department of Commerce so accurately stated at our company’s year-end market update, Baltimore is known for having three famous birds: the Ravens, Orioles and — with all the construction underway — cranes. Momentum has been achieved with the continued distancing of the state’s previous “business unfriendly” reputation, the influx of institutional money targeting the region, its immediate proximity to the Nation’s Capital, a highly educated labor base and a diverse business economy led by the medical, high-technology and educational institution sectors. And, the most telling barometer of all is where …

April 2, 2018

Market Reports Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports Tennessee

Nashville’s Urban Retail Development Boom Driven by Job, Population Growth

by John Nelson March 26, 2018

In its 2018 Emerging Trends in Real Estate survey, Urban Land Institute (ULI) named Nashville the No. 9 U.S. market to watch. Factors contributing to Nashville’s appearance as a top 10 market in ULI’s report for the past three years include a re-emergent downtown, strong population growth, market attractiveness to millennials and a low cost of living. These factors — along with game-changing urban retail developments and the creativity of its culinary scene — have elevated Nashville’s retail market over the last few years. As in its 2015 and 2016 reports, ULI once again refers to Nashville as an “18-hour city.” A defining element of an 18-hour city is a vibrant urban core with entertainment and dining attractions bustling between 7 a.m. and 2 a.m., well beyond the traditional business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Downtown Nashville is a hotspot for retail development, as the area continues to draw record-breaking numbers of crowds from tourists and locals alike to events, restaurants and conventions. From the Predators’ historic run in the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals to the 46th annual CMA Music Festival that brought $57.7 million in direct visitor spending to the nightly concerts at Ryman Auditorium, downtown is …

March 26, 2018

Market Reports Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports Tennessee

Nashville’s Hottest Office Sector is Tight Race Between Urban Core, Suburbs

by John Nelson March 19, 2018

Nashville’s office market, frequently heralded as up and coming, continues to see a great deal of interest from both local and outside investors, and the region’s rapid population growth and low vacancy rates continue to sustain a construction boom. Even with a high influx of new projects highlighting local news, the Nashville area still maintains the lowest vacancy rates of any market in the United States, according to CoStar. Compared to the rest of the country, Nashville has the second highest employment growth and the highest office employment growth, combined with one of the lowest unemployment rates of any major metro area. These encouraging demographics lead most to believe that Nashville will continue its growth rate, especially in the urban core. Since the 1990s the Nashville market followed national trends, seeing most office market growth creep from the central business district (CBD) to the suburban submarkets. After the Great Recession began to subside, which around here was in 2011, an optimistic focus was placed on the growth of the CBD. This local storyline was buttressed by a national narrative of a return to urbanism. This growth, which really began its current unprecedented run late in 2011 and early 2012, is …

March 19, 2018

Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports Tennessee

Is Nashville’s Multifamily Market Overbuilt? Maybe, But Not for Long

by John Nelson March 12, 2018

Nashville has set several notable records in recent years for job growth, rent growth, population growth, tourism and tax revenue, among others. But for the multifamily industry, the most notable benchmarks lately have been related to the amount of inventory that has been delivered. However, the more interesting and less obvious data point is the record level of renter demand that Nashville is currently experiencing. As of third-quarter 2017, Nashville led the country in relative net absorption, with 4.9 percent of the existing inventory being absorbed. This equates to approximately 6,300 units. This demand is fueled by incredibly resilient job creation, as Nashville has increased its employed labor force by 20 percent over the last five years — more than 160,000 jobs. With that as the backdrop, the big question on everyone’s mind is the impact of new supply. In short, yes, there are pockets of oversupply, with approximately 8,500 units delivered in 2017 compared with net renter demand of roughly 6,300. However, with urban deliveries projected to drop off 40 percent in 2018, and 80 percent in 2019, and no slowdown in renter demand on the horizon, the current imbalance is likely to correct itself in relatively short order. …

March 12, 2018

Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports Tennessee

Nashville’s Growing Industrial Pipeline Limits Available Sites, Labor

by John Nelson March 5, 2018

Everyone is familiar with the expression “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” However, what most people do not know is that the second half of that phrase is, “but they were laying bricks every hour.” Bricklayers in Nashville are busy people these days, accommodating the demand for new commercial development. That’s not just a metaphor for the developers of record — the utility contractors, dirt movers, pavers, framers and roofers are all busy trying to keep up with the constant stream of construction. With record levels of construction comes the high demand for a skilled workforce to complete the necessary work. We constantly hear that approximately 30,000 people are moving to Nashville per year. However, a large amount of this new workforce via this in-migration are millennials looking to work in the IT or healthcare fields rather than skilled labor. If you were to ask any “bricklayer” what concerns them the most, almost assuredly the recruitment and retention of qualified labor will be at the forefront of the conversation. With the younger generation less likely to enter the blue collar workforce, why in 2017 did we see 6 million square feet of industrial warehouse space delivered? Make no mistake, that …

March 5, 2018

Market Reports Multifamily North Carolina Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Investment Activity for Class B, C Multifamily on the Rise in Triangle

by John Nelson February 26, 2018

Solid fundamentals in tandem with soaring population growth in the Triangle market continues to drive rents and occupancy to record highs. Raleigh is repeatedly recognized as one of the nation’s best places to live, work and start a business. As a result, the market has a projected population growth of over 73 percent through the year 2044, outpacing cities such as Boston, Atlanta, Nashville and San Francisco, creating a snowball effect of investment and interest. Investors are finding the greatest opportunities in the value-add space in Raleigh for B and C-class product. Significant shortage of single-family home availability in the Triangle region has forced young and new families to turn to multifamily properties as a housing solution. Due to the demand for mid-size accommodation within middle-class budgets, and very few neighborhoods in that criteria, Class B and C apartments have seen a surge in interest, and in turn, attraction of investor attention. Of the 84 multifamily properties sold through Dec. 1 in 2017, 75 were considered Class B or C and totaled over $1.3 billion, or 76 percent of total Raleigh-Durham multifamily market investment in that time frame. Developers have slightly overbuilt Class A property downtown, resulting in a softening …

February 26, 2018

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