Commercial Investment Real Estate is the magazine of the CCIM Institute, the leading provider of commercial real estate education. CIRE covers market trends, current developments, and business strategies within the commercial real estate field.
Issue link: http://cire.epubxp.com/i/164181
S O U T H Ä Multifamily Investors Zero In on Atlanta Lowe's Enters Small-Format Market With the purchase of 60 Orchard Supply Hardware Stores in California and Oregon, Lowe's is positioned to compete in the smaller-size neighborhood home improvement and garden center market. Purchased in bankruptcy for $205 million and debts, Orchard's 36,000-sf stores with 8,000-sf outdoor garden centers give Lowe's a presence in a number of highdensity California markets. Lowe's will maintain the separate Orchard Supply brand, plus its current management. Eight underperforming stores in California markets will close as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. N AT I O N A L Hotel Investors Sleep Easier Hotel prices rose by 12 percent last year, surpassing all other property types, according to CoStar. While most of the gains were in six major markets, investors are now looking to secondary markets, fueled by positive occupancy forecast for 2013–17. Phoenix, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Charlotte, N.C., are all expected to increase occupancy by more than 3 percentage points in the next three years. Is New Jersey on a Diet? While nearly every state in the Union added eating and drinking establishments in 2012, New Jersey lost 111, the largest numerical decline, according to the National Restaurant Association. Kansas (78), Massachusetts (66), Wisconsin (39), Maine (38), South Dakota (8), and Idaho (7) rounded out the biggest (and only) losers, while Florida (1,751), California (1,721), and Texas (1,296) opened the most locations. Tennessee saw the largest percentage growth in restaurants — 9 percent — followed by Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Indiana. Overall, the U.S. added 12,371 eating locations last year, the largest increase since 2007. CCIM.com E A S T Ä E A S T Á Ä A strong employment outlook has multifamily investors targeting Atlanta, squeezing downtown cap rates and pushing investors into outlying submarkets in search of better deals, according to Marcus & Millichap's 3Q13 report. Almost 58,000 jobs were created since 3Q12 — the largest increase since 2007 — and 61,000 jobs are being added this year, pushing local employment close to its prerecession peak. As a result, apartment sales in Atlanta are up 23 percent since 3Q12, with institutional deals up 32 percent. Institutional cap rates are hitting the 5 percent mark, while B and C class properties are in the 6 to 7 percent range. Inventory will expand by 1.4 percent this year; however, more than 50 percent of young professionals are priced out of the most desirable housing markets, providing a ready supply of renters. W E S T Greater Boston Office Stats, 2Q13 Vacancy 13.7% ↓ 60 bps from 1Q13 Class A asking rents $34.44 psf ↑ 1.7% YOY Direct net absorption 864,000 sf ↑ 2% annualized Source: Jones Lang LaSalle September | October | 2013 43