News
CBD-Suburban Gulf Widening
April 18, 2012
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| CBRE executive managing director Chris Connelly tells us that the huge and growing disparity between the downtown and suburban markets is staggering in size and a trend that will be long lasting. CBRE’s Q1 ’12 numbers place the CBD direct vacancy at 13.6%. In the ‘burbs, the vacancy rate is 21.7%. Chris attributes the divergence between town and country to the lure of downtown’s labor pool of young talent. Also hear more from Chris at Bisnow’s Chicago State of the Office Market event April 24. | ||
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| CBRE managing director Jamie Georgas, here with senior managing director Jim Carris, says the march downtown will continue. (They should move in waves and turn them into "relo parades.") Several suburban companies are considering taking 450k SF downtown in the next two years, she tells us. The preference for what the city has to offer is also reflected in investment sales trends, Chris says. Investors stalking suburban locations now seem to be private equity firms searching for a short-term play with a clear exit strategy. He says that institutional money interested in a long-term investment based on strong market fundamentals most likely will be coming downtown as the next cycle takes shape. | ||
