2011 Sees Office Leasing, Sales and Pricing Improve Amid Growth In Office Jobs and Rising Tenant Demand. Outlook Has Landlords Preparing To Sing: “Our Day Will Come”
Article by Randy Drummer, CoStar Group, January 25, 2012
Office space absorption doubled during 2011 as the office-using job base expanded and vacancies declined across nearly two-thirds of U.S. submarkets, CoStar Group reported this week in its Year-End 2011 Office Review & Outlook. The report presented to CoStar clients found that positive momentum in office fundamentals and the continued absence of new construction is expected to result in higher rents for building owners over the next few years.
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Article by Randyl Drummer, CoStar Group, October 19, 2011
With the construction pipeline all but shut down and reduced rents prompting many tenants to trade up for better or more efficient space, the U.S. office market absorbed a strong 19 million square feet in the third quarter, according to data presented this week at CoStar Group’s Third-Quarter 2011 Office Review & Outlook.
The leasing activity helped lower the national office vacancy rate slightly to about 13.1% — down nearly a half percentage point since hitting its peak a year ago. Should leasing activity remain at the level seen this past quarter, it would set the stage for future rent increases, since little to no new supply is being added. CoStar’s analysis found office rents firming or already trending up in some key metros, and more increases are expected to spread across the country by 2013.
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By Randy Drummer, The CoStar Group, September 21, 2011
Prologis, the world’s largest developer and owner of warehouses, expects the recovery in logistics real estate will accelerate through 2012, with an upswing in production, trade and inventories translating into nearly 400 million square feet of positive absorption globally next year.
Even taking into account the economic soft patch earlier this year caused by rising oil and commodities prices, the debt crises in Europe and the U.S., and the natural disasters in Japan, the U.S. recorded the strongest second-quarter net absorption of logistics space in four years, according to the San Francisco-based global firm.
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By MAURA WEBBER SADOVI, The Wall Street Journal, August 3, 2011
25-year-old real-estate investment trust, which has sparked some criticism for its strong appetite for acquisitions, has agreed to buy New Orleans’s tallest skyscraper for $107 million, according to people familiar with the property.
CommonWealth REIT, of Newton, Mass., is buying the 51-story office building named One Shell Square from MetLife Inc., the people said. CommonWealth and MetLife declined to comment on the deal.
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Article by Mark Heschmeyer, The CoStar Group, May 25, 2011
Numerous indications over the past few weeks point to an easing of investment capital for real estate deals. Life insurers have become more active lenders; new CMBS offerings are hitting the street; syndicators are starting to assemble new CDO offerings; and bank loan officers are reporting the first easing of lending standards in years.
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