Monday, April 18, 2011

First Quarter Reports Show Some Improvement for Portland CRE

NAI Norris, Beggs & Simpson has released its First Quarter 2011 quarterly reports for office, industrial, retail and multifamily commercial real estate, as well as its economic report.

Central City office vacancy rose slightly to 12.41 percent during First Quarter. The biggest office news downtown was the $129 million sale of Shorenstein’s First & Main to American Assets Trust. Suburban office vacancy also rose slightly, to 24.13 percent.

Industrial vacancy rose nearly a percentage point to 15.94 percent, with 529,020 sf newly available. Vacancy especially increased in North/Northeast, up to 18.94 percent, as a number of tenants vacated large spaces. But positive signs included Subaru’s build-to-suit lease at Rivergate Corporate Center III.

Retail vacancy remained fairly stable at 6.3 percent. Vancouver is seeing considerable retail activity, including a new Cinetopia under construction at Westfield Vancouver Mall and the recently-announced New Seasons in Fisher’s Landing, opening this October.

The multifamily market has seen recovery more quickly than other property types. Apartment vacancy was 2.74 percent during First Quarter, down from a peak of 5.43 percent during Fourth Quarter 2009. The multifamily investment market remains a bit sluggish, though the institutional market is more robust. The construction pipeline has also started to heat up.

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