THE GEENTY GROUP, REALTORS 765 E. MAIN STREET BRANFORD, CT 06405 T (203) 488-1005 WWW.GEENTYGROUP.COM
Kristin T. Geenty, SIOR & Kevin C.Geenty, SIOR
YOUR NETWORK PARTNER IN CONNECTICUT
BROKERAGE I SITESELECTION I SOLUTIONS
Commercial Real Estate Index
The;Commercial;Real;Estate;Index,;representing;first
quarter 2011 data, advanced 6. 8 points. The national
index, based on 10 variables pertinent to the performance
of;U.S.;industrial;and;office;markets,;rose;to;57. 5.;The
index;highlights;improvements;in;both;office;and;indus-trial;sectors—the;office;index;increased;6. 4;points;while
the industrial index rose 6. 9 points. The pace of activity in the national economy remains a concern, especially
in light of the employment situation. Geographically, all
four regions of the country improved.
SIOR Commercial Markets
Just as economic improvements are not evenly distributed across the country, the pace of recovery is also more
uneven.;Commercial;markets;in;the;Northeast;continued
their;steady;march;towards;equilibrium;during;the;first
quarter,;with;an;index;value;that;reached;63. 9.;Markets;in
the South posted the second highest values for the period
at;61. 1,;followed;by;the;Midwest;and;West.
Leasing activity gained from the fourth quarter of last
year and practitioners reported improving vacancies. In
fact,;respondents;were;split;in;thirds;on;availability—a
third found vacancies to be higher, another third consid-ered;them;on;par,;while;the;other;third;mentioned;they
were;lower;than;a;year;ago.;Office;and;industrial;rents
continue to be soft and concessions remain the norm in
order to attract and retain tenants.
Meanwhile,;construction;of;new;commercial;space;is
still;very;limited.;SIOR;respondents;indicate;that;devel-opment;conditions;make;it;a;buyer’s;market,;where;acqui-sition;prices;are;lower;than;construction;costs.;With;credit
conditions;only;beginning;to;thaw,;investment;activity
remained;low;in;the;first;quarter.;Respondents;continue;to
report;low;levels;of;transactions;in;spite;of;current;asset
prices.
Based;on;the;results;of;the;first;quarter;survey,;com-mercial markets are expected to continue the upward
trends,;while;working;through;existing;issues.;While;the
road;ahead;may;take;a;while,;SIOR;members;are;expect-ing improving conditions for the next quarter—only four
percent;indicated;that;business;would;be;down;from;cur-
rent;levels.;A;significant;94;percent;expect;the;market;to
improve in the second quarter of this year.
Outlook
Weighing;the;results;of;the;SIOR;Index;during;the;first
quarter 2011 against those from a year ago, it is evident
that;commercial;markets;have;made;noticeable;strides.
Office;and;industrial;markets;are;working;through;lin-gering;challenges,;but;the;signals;are;pointing;towards
steady improvement.
