New construction activity in Fairfield County has inched up historically low residential vacancy rates, according to the new Marcus & Millichap Multifamily Investment forecast released this week. New employment opportunities are driving household formation, adding new apartment demand to the current pool of renters.
Fairfield County is expected to add some 1,700 residential rental units by the end of 2020, according to the report.
In the New Haven/Bridgeport submarket, apartment vacancies near historic lows have bolstered investor demand, according to M&M. That demand is greatest in the city of New Haven, where organizations with more than $20 million in available capital have targeted Class B properties, especially downtown near Yale University.
Investors in the $1 million-to-$10 million tranche are also acquiring smaller Class C properties in the city, as well as in the city of Bridgeport and its inner-ring communities.
Marcus & Millichap projects the delivery of about 2,020 total apartment units in New Haven and Fairfield counties during the year, about 900 more than the 2019 total.
The company also projects that average effective monthly rents in the market will climb to $1,852 this year, up 1.8 percent compared to a 2.4-percent rise during 2019.
TRANSACTIONS
Frank Hird of OR&L Commercial was party to two lease transactions at 34 Barnes Industrial Road South, Wallingford. Consolidated Electrical Distributors Inc. leased 20,079 square feet of storage space in the industrial facility. Hird represented both Consolidated and landlord ADM Wallingford LLC and Tremblant Enterprises LLC in the transaction. He likewise represented them in the lease of 31,141 square feet at the same address to Red Bull Distribution Co. Inc., which will occupy the space in May following renovations to the facility. Red Bull was represented by James Panczykowski of Jones Lange LaSalle.
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A 5,250-square-foot building on 0.22 acres at 461 Derby Ave., West Haven has been purchased by Astro Auto Repair LLC for $445,000. The new owner, which owns the adjoining New England Collision auto-body service facility, will use the new property for automotive repair. The seller, SKF Automotive Inc., was represented in the deal by Fred A. Messore of Colonial Properties. E. Tyler Della Valle of Dow Della Valle represented the buyer.
