Marlton, NJ – Commercial real estate brokerage WCRE reported in its analysis of the first quarter of the new year that the Southern New Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania markets may be through the worst of the downturn brought on a year ago by the pandemic. The widespread availability of effective COVID-19 vaccinations, coupled with large-scale financial relief from the federal government, may bring an optimistic note back to the market. For the moment, market performance on several indicators remains off.
“CRE performance in the first quarter seems to be tracking with our lived experience. As expected, office vacancy is quite high, while demand for industrial space is surging,” said Jason Wolf, founder and managing principal of WCRE. “Market fundamentals are shaky, but there are pockets of strength and resiliency.”
There were approximately 555,988 s/f of new leases and renewals executed in the three counties surveyed (Burlington, Camden and Gloucester), which was more than double the previous quarter. New tenant leases comprised approximately 44,952 s/f, or only about 8% of all deals for the three counties.
Other office market highlights from the report: