Cushman & Wakefield | Commerce Q1 Marketbeat Snapshot Reports Reflect Strong Utah Economy

SALT LAKE CITY, UT--(Marketwired - Apr 30, 2013) - Cushman & Wakefield | Commerce (www.comre.com), released its Q1 Marketbeat Snapshot reports for Salt Lake County today, showing a dip in vacancy rates and a rebound for Downtown Salt Lake City area.

The full Salt Lake County reports for the Office, Industrial, Investment and Retail markets for Q1, 2013 are available for downloaded at http://www.comre.com/research.cfm.

"Utah's commercial real estate industry was off to a strong start in Q1," said Michael M. Lawson, president and CEO of Cushman & Wakefield | Commerce. "The Office market saw a drop in vacancy rates by 0.8 percentage points over last year. The state is also continuing to attract capital from institutional sources from outside its borders. The tendency there is to focus on high quality, class A product which remains in short supply. With gains in employment and an upward trend in consumer spending and attitudes, absorption for office, industrial, and retail spaces will continue to grow, creating upward pressure on rates."

Office Snapshot
The overall vacancy rate for the Salt Lake Valley is at 13.9%. Class A properties continued to lead the way, but class B and C property vacancies are down from year-end 2012 as well. As rental rates begin to tick upward with less supply available, tenants will likely try to capture value through concessions such as tenant improvements or free rent. Supply should remain constricted with only 373,000 square feet of office space under construction and over half of that space already pre-leased.

Industrial Snapshot
Leasing and user sales activity in the industrial market totaled 2.1 million square feet in Q1, which is the highest level of activity in any quarter over the last five years. Utah added nearly 15,000 industrial-related jobs over the last year and continues to attract new companies. Vacancy rates are expected to drop and rents are anticipated to increase, especially in spaces under 50,000 square feet.

Investment Snapshot
Investment sales were up in every category in Q1 with the largest increase coming from office properties. Total investments reached $313 million, a 343 percent increase over the same period in 2012. Market optimism is spurring some owners to divest of their properties and begin new construction projects. Looking forward, 2013 continues to look strong with sales expectations to outperform the past several years. Office properties will likely see the largest volume but some significant retail dispositions are expected as well.

Retail Snapshot
Vacancy rates in the retail market remain steady at 9.1 percent. But with consumer confidence on the rise, retailers are scouring the market for prime locations. Restaurants are particularly active with several new brands coming into the Salt Lake area.

About Cushman & Wakefield | Commerce
Cushman & Wakefield | Commerce, an independently owned and operated member of the Cushman & Wakefield Alliance, has been the leading provider of real estate brokerage services for more than 30 years. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, the firm has offices throughout Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Washington. It offers consulting, brokerage, tenant and landlord representation, property and facilities management, and valuation services to corporations, institutions and investors throughout the Intermountain West and Pacific Northwest. For more information, and for property listings, broker information, market category reports and more visit www.comre.com. 

About Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield is the world's largest privately‐held commercial real estate services firm. The company advises and represents clients on all aspects of property occupancy and investment, and has established a preeminent position in the world's major markets, as evidenced by its frequent involvement in many of the most significant property leases, sales and assignments. Founded in 1917 it has 243 offices in 60 countries and more than 14,000 employees. It offers a complete range of services for all property types, including leasing, sales and acquisitions, equity, debt and structured finance, corporate finance and investment banking, corporate services, property management, facilities management, project management, consulting and appraisal. The firm has more than $4 billion in assets under management through its wholly‐owned subsidiary Cushman & Wakefield Investors. A recognized leader in local and global real estate research, the firm publishes its market information and studies online at www.cushmanwakefield.com/knowledge.