The market in South Jersey continues to remain solid, according to WCRE‘s fourth quarter of 2018 report released Monday.
The stable environment, the commercial real estate firm said, was bolstered by new investments from outside the region which supported local expansions.
In the fourth quarter, leasing, sales, net absorption and prospecting activity were all up, the firm said.
“Although the financial markets were highly unpredictable, commercial real estate performed the way it has for most of the past several years — with steady growth supported by strong fundamentals,” Jason Wolf, founder and managing principal of WCRE, said.
In Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties (the three counties surveyed) there was 336,466 square feet of new leases and renewals in the fourth quarter, an increase of 18.3 percent compared to last quarter. The sales market remained active as well, with 1.4 million square feet on the market or under agreement and $28.5 million in sales on 316,476 square feet.
All new leasing activity accounted for about one third (36 percent) of all deals in the three counties. Overall, gross lease absorption in the fourth quarter was around 286,215 square feet.
Other market highlights from the report include:
- Overall vacancy in the market is at 10.95 percent, an improvement of 35 basis points over the previous quarter;
- Average rents for Class A and B were around $10-$15 per-square-foot or $20-$25 per-square-foot gross for the deals completed during the quarter;
- Vacancy in Camden County increased to 11.5 percent for the quarter, up nearly a point compared to the third quarter;
- Burlington County vacancy stayed at 10.4 percent, unchanged.
