See my latest contribution to the RE/MAX Commercial – Q1 Market Report on the Retail and Office sector.
With the continued slowdown of the economy and ongoing contraction of the labor force you’ll see a rise in vacancy in both retail and office. But despite this, certain industries are still doing well like healthcare, utility, auto repair shops, daycares are just some of the few.
A few developers still plan to break ground on some new retail projects. But there won’t be many, you might be able to count them on two hands. Never the less, prime locations are still hard to find.
Lease rates on those prime locations have not changed much, but with vacancy rates rising and with more inventory to chose from there will be a growing pressure for landlords to adjust their rates to stay competitive.
Office vacancy rates are also starting to climb as companies start to downsize. Not surprisingly, as a lot of the major projects from the oil and gas industries are put on hold. In effect, you’ll see a rise in available sub-lease spaces with better lease rates. And yet medical professional buildings are maintaining their vacancy fairly well as considered by many is the most promising sector in the commercial real estate right now.
See the entire Market Report.
