FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tracy Johnson, President & CEO, CARW | 414-698-7474 | [email protected]
Chris Allen, Director of Analytics, REDIComps | 952-456-1669 | [email protected]
CARW / Catylist Release 2022 Q1 Commercial Numbers
MILWAUKEE, April 21, 2022– The Commercial Association of REALTORS® Wisconsin (CARW) 2022 first quarter numbers show a market and economic overview of the industrial and office industries, and notable transaction report for retail. The market reports are produced in collaboration with CARW members, Moody’s/Catylist and REDIComps Research. Full report is HERE
“Wisconsin’s Commercial Real Estate market is adapting to the post-COVID supply chain and business decisions,” said Tracy Johnson, President and CEO for CARW.
The Southeastern Wisconsin office showed increased activity in suburban leasing. Of the 93 lease comps totaling 404,000 sf this quarter, 73 of them were in the suburban markets and 20 lease comps were in Milwaukee CBD markets. Ten office properties sold with 330,000 sf for $6,520,000. “The office market is about as idiosyncratic as I’ve ever seen it as it’s a mixed bag,” said Bill Bonifas, Executive Vice President, CBRE. “Milwaukee Tool’s renovation of 501 West Michigan is market-altering but at the same time there’s a lot of commodity space (apx. 2,000,000 ft.²) that is seeing very little activity – especially in the CBD. Interestingly, no one building appears to be suffering. It seems like there are a very large number of buildings that are all at about 85% leased. At that level they’re probably breaking even. The vacancy rate is a reasonably healthy 15% but the reflecting subleases the availability rate is up to 20%. All considered pretty amazing.”
Existing industrial inventory for sale, lease, or investment in Southeastern Wisconsin continues to be very limited. Nine properties just shy of 2,000,000 sf were delivered this quarter. Kenosha County had three of the properties with 890,000 sf. “While there are a number of proposed larger developments in the works, particularly from south of Milwaukee to the IL border, many of these are only in the planning stages and will take considerable time to move forward given the supply chain restraints of many construction materials,” said Kevin Barry, Executive Vice President, The Barry Company. “Much of the new product that has come to the market has been absorbed soon after completion,” Barry added. “Now is a good time to consider selling or leasing if you are an owner of industrial real estate.”
“The retail market in Southeastern Wisconsin is robust right now,” said Cory Sovine, Senior Vice President, Colliers. “The largest challenge brokers and tenants are seeing is finding enough quality real estate. While “main street” and urban retail is lagging, suburban commercial corridors, generally due to the slow return of employees to the downtown office market and restaurants are thriving and anything with a drive thru or an end cap which could offer a drive thru is worth its weight in gold.” Sovine added, “While consumer spending has continued to defy inflationary trends and global disruptions, signs of a slowdown are starting to become more prevalent, driven in large part by significant increases in oil prices which reverberates throughout the entire supply chain.”
About CARW:
CARW is the VOICE for commercial real estate brokerage and related professionals in Wisconsin. Founded in 1993, CARW is dedicated to the success of our members by providing public policy advocacy, invaluable educational opportunities, networking experiences and data exchange. CARW supports more than 900 commercial real estate professionals in 500 companies throughout Wisconsin and the region. CARW also oversees the statewide data exchange that tracks commercial lease and sale information. Members represent more than 36.5 M sf of commercial real estate available for sale and nearly 63 M sf available for lease.
About REDI:
Founded in 1994, REDI is the original fully researched CIE/CMLS exchange. REDI provides tailored commercial real estate products for the commercial real estate industry, including a complete market property universe continuously updated with the latest availabilities and sales transactions. REDI/Catylist provides fully researched market data and Commercial Data Exchange Services to more than 50 markets nationwide. Visit www.redicatylist.com/carw for more information.
About Moody’s/Catylist:
Moody’s, a global integrated risk assessment firm that empowers organizations to make better decisions recently purchased Catylist, a commercial real estate software company that supports the commercial data exchange systems in more than 50 markets across North America. Catylist partners with brokerage firms, local associations, and economic development communities to create a customized, local database that serves as the most trusted source for information in the market.
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