Hartford is seeing industrial vacancies fall and office leasing expand, according to a commercial real estate forecast that suggests overall U.S., Canada, German and UK markets are still in flux.
Avison Young’s 2017 North America, U.K. and Germany Forecast is an annual report that covers the office, retail, industrial and investment sectors in 63 markets in five countries on two continents.
Broadly, Avison Young Chairman and CEO Mark E. Rose says, using a baseball analogy, that while it may seem close to the end of a positive cycle of job growth, improving market fundamentals and superior yields for alternative investments, there may be more than a couple of “innings” left to “play.”
Hartford is one city that “continues to test a newly optimistic investment climate,” the report states.
The city has experienced strong office leasing in the financial sector and expanding industrial and warehousing operations, leading to decreased vacancies and unemployment declines quarter over quarter since early 2015.
Office vacancy rates in Greater Hartford are projected to decrease from 10.5 percent in 2016 to 9.8 percent this year. Industrial vacancy rates are projected to dip from 7.4 percent last year to 7 percent this year, the report states.
Some of the productive developments in 2016 included Lincoln Financial’s leasing of 200,000 square feet here, and despite the struggles of Dunkin’ Donuts Park where the minor league Hartford Yard Goats are slated to play this year, the anticipated development of the area around it, the report states.
