Q1 2023 North America Market Report
INDUSTRIAL OVERVIEW: SHARP DECLINE HITS FIRST-QUARTER U.S. DEMAND
There was a sharp first-quarter decline in U.S. tenant demand for industrial space as wholesalers and retailers reconsider their inventory levels out of caution over the economic outlook. Net absorption in the first quarter totaled 39.4 million SF, a 57% drop from the record set a year ago. Demand for Canadian industrial space in Q1, however, gained nearly 21% year over year. The overall U.S. vacancy rate settled at 4.4%, an increase of 40 basis points from the close of 2022, comfortably below the 7.3% market average over the last two decades. Vacant space at the end of March totaled 805.6 million SF, up 81.4 million SF from the previous quarter. READ MORE >
OFFICE OVERVIEW: DESPITE JOB GAINS OFFICE FOOTPRINTS CONTINUE TO SHRINK
Tenant demand for North American office space over the last two quarters has gone from bad to worse for landlords, affirming that the lingering and painful impact of post-pandemic workplace arrangements has yet to play out.
Net absorption for U.S. office space in Q1 was negative 28,749,399 SF. It was the third largest quarterly contraction since the Covid lockdown three years ago. It also comes on the heels of 16.6 million SF of negative absorption in the last quarter of 2022. The combined 35.3 million SF of negative absorption of the last six months represents 27% of the 131 million SF that have been put back on the market since Covid. READ MORE >
RETAIL OVERVIEW: NET ABSORPTION DIPS IN THE FIRST QUARTER
Despite healthy consumer spending and strong successive quarterly merchant demand, overall net absorption for North American retail space eased in the first quarter. Net growth in the United States totaled 7.7 million SF in Q1. That was down from 22.4 million SF for the same period a year ago and off from 20.7 million in Q4 2022. The 74.8 million SF absorbed last year was the most since 2017. There have been eight straight quarters of net growth across the U.S. READ MORE >
MULTIFAMILY OVERVIEW: RENT GROWTH CONTINUES TO SLOW
Demand remained tepid in the first quarter among U.S. renters growing anxious about the prospects of a recession. Rent growth continued to moderate as new apartment deliveries far outpaced absorption. First-quarter net absorption totaled 44,796 units, which was off 17% from the same period last year. The addition of nearly 100,000 deliveries in Q1 helped push the national vacancy rate up 170 basis points to 6.6%. Meanwhile, overall year-over-year rents increased 3.9%. Rent for an average apartment totaled $1,633 per unit or $1.84 per SF. Also influencing apartment demand is reduced fear of covid infection in crowded living arrangements. Additionally, workers returning to offices and children to classrooms have reduced the need for work and study space. READ MORE >
