M id A tlantic Real Estate Journal — Fall Preview — September 25 - October 15, 2020 — 3C
www.marej.com
By Staci Saeger, NAI Summit Greater Lehigh Valley 2020 Fall Update E astern P ennsylvania
O
that unfolded this year. One of the sectors that was hit the hardest was retail. At
providing more reason to surpass the in-store shopping and eating experience. The
the demand increases, avail- able land as a finite resource will only continue to increase in value. The Lehigh Valley still re- mains strong during these unprecedented times, with no doubt that we will be able to bounce back much quicker than other parts of the coun- try. For more information on our Commercial and Industri- al Real Estate market, please visit naisummit.com or con- tact us for more information. Staci Saeger is the direc- tor of marketing at NAI Summit. MAREJ
LAND: INCREASING IN VALUE The market includes about 295 listings for sale, with ma- jority of those availabilities on lots with 10 acres or less. With around 47 properties available for lease, most are also under 10 acres, with some larger lots ranging from 22 acres up to 273 acres. As developable land becomes less available, more municipal governments are instituting land preservation programs and creating funds to support those lands into the future. As more parcels sell or become occupied and
FFICE: STILL GROWING The of f i ce mar-
ket contin- ues to grow with about 800,000 s/f currently un- der construc- tion in the Lehigh Val- l ey . About 25% of the
The Lehigh Valley still remains strong during these unprecedented times, with no doubt that we will be able to bounce back much quicker than other parts of the country.
the beginning of this year, consumer behaviors were favoring the online shopping experience causing retail real estate to continue to modify and change to keep up. The unfortunate arrival of COVID has only increased that trend,
vacancy rate has remained the same throughout 2020 at 9% with an average rental rate increasing from $14.76/s/f to $15.03/s/f. As anticipated, the overall retail vacancy and rental rates haven’t experi- enced much of a change.
Staci Saeger
new construction is planned to be completed within the next twelve months. Majority of the total 8.2% office vacancies still fall into class B or C office, with class A product hold- ing a 14.6% vacancy overall. Prominent office parks filled with an abundance of class A space remain available in Al- lentown, Bethlehem, Center Valley, and suburban areas; with an average rental rate of $23.77/s/f in the beginning of 2020. With rates increasing as predicted, class A space is now averaging $24.20/s/f. Class B and C locations previ- ously averaged a rental rate of $18.41/s/f, slightly increasing to $19.00/s/f. Lease activity is stable and remains the same throughout 2020, forecast- ing no major changes on the horizon. The demand for industrial buildings shifted, but is still very present in the Lehigh Valley market and will con- tinue to be as the Lehigh Val- ley offers many incentives for industrial users. A demand for smaller industrial/flex buildings continues to rise and remains harder to find in tar - get areas, especially locations for sale. With over 136 million s/f of industrial space avail- able in Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe, and Carbon counties, of that eight million more s/f is under construction. That is five million more s/f of planned construction than at the beginning of the year. As expected and previously stated, the ongoing struggle of finding that small to mid- size industrial/flex space will force companies to consider alternative options. With a 5.6% vacancy in industrial/ flex space, the average rental rate has increased slightly to $6.32/s/f. RETAIL: WHAT NEXT? Like many organizations including NAI Summit, we had to adapt to the events INDUSTRIAL: SAME STORY
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