Western Market Reports

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By Matt Pesch, Vice Chairman, CBRE The multifamily market in Phoenix experienced a record-setting year in 2021. Market vacancy dropped below 3 percent for the first time, the region led all U.S. metros in year-over-year rent growth for every quarter and total multifamily investment sales volume topped $12 billion. This was nearly double the volume from 2019 and a 125 percent jump from 2020. These metrics are driven by Phoenix’s primary economic drivers of nation-leading population and job growth. As of October, Phoenix was one of only four U.S. metros to recover 100 percent of the jobs the region lost during the pandemic. This was driven by the stable recovery of long-established industries and growing sectors that are diversifying the region’s employment base. Case in point: Phoenix is home to one of the fastest-growing biotech sectors in the U.S. with the life sciences workforce expanding by 8.5 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to CBRE’s latest research. Likewise, large corporate office users continue to relocate or expand in Phoenix at an unprecedented rate, further driving the region’s robust employment recovery. The area’s strong employment recovery and population growth are the fuel driving Phoenix’s multifamily sector. The gains in the apartment …

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By Eric Chen, Senior Vice President, CBRE Multifamily has been a well-performing real estate segment during the past 18 months as demand for housing continues to trump supply in most of California. The Inland Empire has been the recipient of much of this demand within the Greater Los Angeles and Southern California regions due to their economic and population growth. Tenants are also in search of more affordable, quality dwellings outside the urban core. Due to the confluence of these factors, multifamily vacancies in the area are at an all-time low of less than 5 percent. This is exasperated by the fact that new developments are at the lowest level across the nation, pushing rent growth to No. 1. This dynamic is, of course, ideal for investors who seek stable, income-producing investments with potential upside and little risk of oversupply. We do expect additional apartment properties to be built in the coming year or two, which will create more investment opportunities and provide more options for tenants who are new to the region or relocating from within. Looking back on this year, we have seen a number of large institutional-sized transactions between $25 million and $100 million, with investors ranging …

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WREB recently sat down with Tom van Betten, vice president of Matter Real Estate Group. The San Diego-baseed real estate development company currently has 2.5 million square feet of industrial projets either in development or owned by Matter. One of those four projects is Matter Logistics @ North 15, a 930,000-square-foot warehouse/distribution project in North Las Vegas that spans two buildings. Below, Van Betten discusses the firm’s attraction to the Las Vegas Valley, where he sees the industry heading and how Matter is able to find developable land in tight markets.  WREB: What about the North Las Vegas submarket is attractive to Matter? Van Betten: Right now, Matter is focused on scale and land availability. North Las Vegas is currently where the larger available land parcels are — or were.  I say “were” because there is a real shortage of land that has the infrastructure to develop, such as power and water. On the scale size, the tenants moving to Las Vegas continue to grow in size. To accommodate that demand, we are focused on larger sights. WREB: How were you able to acquire more than 42 acres for the new Matter Logistics @ North 15? As you mention, transactions of that size are …

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By Tony Phu, Senior Executive Vice President, Colliers Rental rates and land values continue to outpace construction cost inflation, driven by the insatiable need for industrial and distribution space across the entire Western U.S. This is especially true in Southern California where a critical mass of population/tenant demand and high barriers to entry for development have created an exacerbated supply and demand imbalance.  Scarcities of land for new development, as well as existing and under-construction buildings, are the main drivers. Entitlements are difficult to secure with a timeline between 24 and 30 months from start to finish. As a result, scarcity will remain the name of the game, and tenants will continue to pay increased costs to secure a building. With roughly 29 million square feet expected to deliver over the next five quarters, vacancy should remain flat as demand stays high for these buildings. Lease rates will continue to rise as existing tenants renew while expanding tenants compete for limited space that comes to market. Total net absorption for 2021 will break the record set in 2018, likely falling just shy of 30 million square feet. Activity levels in both the Inland Empire East and West remain about the same. There are so …

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By Jeffrey Mitchell, Principal Broker, Mountain West Commercial Real Estate Las Vegas experienced the second largest unemployment rate at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. Since then, the Las Vegas Metro has come a long way in recovering economically. It continues to see growth, particularly in the retail sector. Some key factors as to why Las Vegas has been on a continued trajectory of growth include the migration of residents, capital from across the country (with California being the primary source) and substantial tourism to the Vegas Strip. This has all fueled the flames for a hot Las Vegas that’s attracting investors, big box tenants and franchises looking to expand with a fury. The migration of California residents has helped increase residential growth by 2.2 percent in Clark County. California residents typically have a higher disposable income, which has flooded the housing market with prices increasing by 20.9 percent. New residents translate to new sales, which have also bolstered the food and beverage and retail markets by creating demand for more retail tenants around them. Ironically, high-end retailers have set records throughout the pandemic with their sales on the Strip. Other business owners have strategically managed PPE from the government or capital …

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By Dan MacDavid, Principal, AO Mixed-use industrial has become a significant economic driver in the Inland Empire. Cities are benefiting from business synergies, additional tax revenue, high-quality design and civic engagement that builds community. The recent mixed-use trend can be attributed to one key change: the significant growth in size and scale of industrial master plans over the past few decades, combined with a new approach to industrial as a partial result of the pandemic. After the 2008 financial crisis, the U.S. economy has managed to make a comeback in ways that are unique and new to the commercial real estate industry, specifically in the mixed-use industrial sector. The Inland Empire — historically regarded as a key industrial market — saw record-level demand for industrial space as online sales surged during the pandemic. Some 19.1 million square feet of industrial space was leased in the fourth quarter of 2020. This was down slightly from 19.8 million square feet in the third quarter, according to JLL’s fourth-quarter market report. Despite 19.7 million square feet of new product being delivered in 2020, supply still lags demand. Data from the second quarter of 2020 shows there are no signs of slowing in this sector, particularly in …

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By Wes Drown, Broker Associate, REMAX Commercial The Las Vegas Valley continues to see growth in the demand, velocity, rates and a decline in incentives as Vegas bounces back. This is led by the return of our entertainment industries, which are almost to pre-COVID levels, in addition to the massive demand for housing and commercial construction. All you have to do is take a drive around the 215-Beltway to see that activity is everywhere.  The news-grabbing projects that are seemingly announced weekly are once again turning heads. They’re attracting young college graduates and stimulating the needs for goods and services, almost to a pre-COVID level.  Office construction is underway in earnest, with expansion in Summerlin, the SW “Curve” and West Henderson. High- and mid-rise office with parking structures are being leased up in the Westside areas, with predominantly single-story popping up in Henderson. Rates for suburban office products are pushing over $2.10 per square foot, per month, including operating costs. The spread between asking price and closed deals is shrinking significantly. Incentives are back to “normal” with landlords offering new carpet and paint, or maybe a partial month early occupancy rather than the free rent or step-up rents we’ve seen in the past. …

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By Tim Reid, First Vice President, CBRE Boise’s retail market continues to show signs of resiliency in the wake of a global downturn caused by the pandemic. Though retail companies pivoted their business models to accommodate social distancing policies and provide contactless options last year, many were still forced to close their doors. The retail outlook is now much brighter after the industry experienced an incredibly turbulent year.  Beginning in April, Idaho’s year-over-year retail sales rebounded 56.3 percent after dropping to 22.7 percent in 2020. Much of that progress can be attributed to Idaho’s strong fundamentals, including the state’s robust population growth. Idaho led the nation as the second-fastest growing state in the past decade, adding 17.3 percent to the population from 2010 to 2020. This state also houses several of the fastest-growing cities in the nation. While much of the migration to Boise City came from within the state, relocations from the West Coast — namely, California, Washington and Oregon — surged, accounting for 17.5 percent of last year’s growth. Those moving tend to be young, affluent, childless professionals seeking urban locations. While this migration pattern is not new, relocations to the Treasure Valley were amplified by the pandemic. These dynamics …

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By Tad Loran, Vice President, Retail Specialist, Avison Young | Western Alliance Commercial Inc. The Reno retail market was hard hit overall by the pandemic, with the service industry at the top of the list. Some notable businesses that closed in Reno last year include Santa Fe Basque Restaurant, Truckee River Bar & Grill, An — Asian Kitchen & Bar, Little Nugget Diner, True NY Pizza Co., Rounds Bakery Storefront, Jos A. Bank, St. James Infirmary, 24 Hour Fitness and Pier 1 Imports. Big box national retailers picked up virtually no new space in 2020.  The good news is retail demand and leasing activity has rebounded this year. Northern Nevada’s retail vacancy rate saw positive absorption. It currently sits at 5.8 percent, while asking rental rates have increased. They are currently at $19.08 per square foot (triple net) on an annual basis for second-generation space and $42 per square foot (triple net) on an annual basis for new construction. Notable business openings this year include Sport Clips, the Human Bean, C-A-L Ranch, In-N-Out Burger, Starbucks, Chipotle, Firehouse Subs, Truckee Bagel, Base Camp Pizza, SUP and Chase Bank. Commercial sales in Northern Nevada were nominal in 2020. This was driven by the pandemic, a lack of …

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By Evan Meyer, Senior Office Specialist, Kidder Mathews The business climate continues to thrive in Reno as the regional economy quickly rebounded from the pandemic-fueled recession of 2020. Reno performed far better than most markets on the West Coast with a low unemployment rate (4.2 percent in August) and expanding job growth (+7.2 percent year over year). The region’s rapid growth persists as new businesses continue to move into the area, a trend that accelerated over the past few years. Most relocations are coming from California, attracted by the strong economic environment and business-friendly policies in Northern Nevada. As one of the fastest-growing regions in the U.S., expansion is occurring across multiple industries, including technology, manufacturing, distribution, financial and healthcare. The diverse and dynamic nature of the regional economy has driven the overall performance of the office market. This has produced continuous years of declining vacancy and a decade of rising rents, even through the peak levels of the pandemic. At the end of the third quarter, the vacancy rate was 7.7 percent, a 130-basis point drop compared to the previous quarter. Vacancy rates continue to decline across all submarkets due to strong demand and tenant expansion.  Net absorption also gained momentum …

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