With several large employers planning to relocate to Camden, NJ and improvements in key indicators across the board, South Jersey commercial real estate market experienced an overall strong year in 2014 and was well-positioned for another strong year in 2015, according to a new quarterly market analysis from Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a leading Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in South Jersey and Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, including Philadelphia office space and other Philadelphia commercial properties.
The fourth quarter featured a very busy commercial market, with a 20 percent increase in deal activity over the third quarter 2014, and a 30 percent increase over the fourth quarter 2013, as well as a high volume of transactions expected to consummate in the early part of the new year, the market analysis by the Philly commercial real estate broker said.
Approximately 481,761 square feet of new leases and renewals were executed in the three counties surveyed – Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties, the report noted. Positive absorption spiked, making up approximately 222,618 square feet of total activity. The sales market also was quite active during the fourth quarter, with eight significant sales transactions taking place, totaling approximately $95 million in value and in excess of 1.25 million square feet, according to the report issued by Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philly commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in South Jersey and Philly commercial real estate listings and services, including Philly office space and other Philadelphia commercial properties.
The report noted that the tightening of the 3M markets in Burlington County, coupled with incentives offered under the GROW NJ initiative, caused a surge of demand for space in Camden County, specifically in the city of Camden.
“Burlington and Camden have been in a horse race, with Burlington moving ahead the past few quarters, but on the strength of GROW NJ, Camden County clearly won this round,” said Jason Wolf, founder and managing principal of Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate broker.
Taking a combined $525 million in tax incentives, Subaru, Holtec, Lockheed Martin, and Cooper Health all announced plans to relocate corporate headquarters to the city of Camden. The Philadelphia 76ers ownership organization had previously announced plans to build a new team headquarters and practice facility in Camden, and a new 20-acre retail center anchored by a supermarket has been announced for 2016.
Other office market highlights in the report from Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philly commercial real estate broker that specializes in South Jersey and Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and service, including Philadelphia office space and other Philadelphia commercial properties:
- Overall vacancy in the market continues to drop, and is now down to approximately 14.3%.
- Average rents for Class A & B product continue to show strong support in the range of $10.00-$14.00/sf NNN or $21.00-$24.00/sf gross, with an overall market average showing strong support in the $10.00-$12.00/sf NNN or $20.00-$22.00/sf gross for the deals completed during the fourth quarter.
- Despite strides made in the city of Camden, Burlington County continued to maintain a significantly lower vacancy rate than Camden County. Burlington’s vacancy rate sits at 9.8 percent, while Camden County’s is at 18.8 percent, the Philadelphia commercial real estate broker said.
- All of the major private owners and REITS showed moderate leasing and prospect activity for the fourth quarter – with Burlington County vacancies tightening up, many larger vacancy opportunities are also shifting towards Camden County, which is not controlled by these ownership entities.
The retail report from the Philly commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in South Jersey and Philly commercial real estate listings noted that consumer confidence reached a nearly seven-year high, and retail sales activity was up. Highlights from the retail section of the report include:
- Overall retail vacancy in the tri-county area is hovering around 10.3%, marking tremendous improvement from the end of 2012, when it was hovering in the 17-18% range, according to the Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.
- Class A retail product rental rates continue to show strong support in the range of $30.00-$40.00/sf NNN.
- Several new retail development projects throughout the tri-county area are underway or have been announced.
The full report on the South Jersey commercial real estate market is available upon request from Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philly commercial real estate broker that specializes in South Jersey and Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, including Philly office space and other Philadelphia commercial properties.
For more information about Philadelphia office space or any Philadelphia commercial properties, please call 215-799-6900 to speak to Jason Wolf (215-588-8800-cell; jason.wolf@wolfcre.com), Leor Hemo (215-514-1750-cell; leor.hemo@wolfcre.com) or Lee Fein (215-206-5580-cell; lee.fein@wolfcre.com) at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philadelphia commercial real estate broker.
Wolf Commercial Real Estate is a premier Philly commercial real estate brokerage firm that provides a full range of South Jersey and Philly commercial real estate listings and services that include Philly office space and other Philadelphia commercial properties. We market commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other South Jersey and Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors and sellers. Please visit our websites for a full listing of Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.
