The industrial market as a whole finished the year strong with just over 1.9M SF of net absorption. The industrial vacancy rate typically stays at least 100 basis points below the national average thanks to solid absorption and a dearth of speculative construction, although developers are starting to regain confidence and several of the projects that are underway have significant availabilities. Activity in 2018 was strong, putting it among the best years of this cycle.
Market Update
The industrial market as a whole finished the year strong with just over 2.1M SF of net absorption. Though the twin cities metro is not a hub for national distribution, the growing need for last-mile delivery brought about by the rise of e-commerce has spurred most of the activity.
The outlook for office market is very mixed. Office employment (office using jobs) added 7,000 jobs in the past year. However, because companies are changing how they use space, vacancy in the office market actually increased to almost 18%. There are a few exceptions, but we expect this trend to continue.
As spring arrives, the market for commercial real estate continues to do well. The downside is that we may be nearing the peak of the current cycle in both the office & industrial market.
We Make Buying, Selling, and Leasing Commercial Real Estate We Make Buying, Selling, and Leasing Commercial Real Estate