Regional Markets On Strong Footing Before Disruption From COVID-19
Philadelphia, PA (04/09/2020)
1:36 PM
Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has released its first quarter 2020 office reports for the Philadelphia CBD, suburbs, Southern New Jersey and Northern Delaware. The global COVID-19 pandemic did not begin to cause significant economic disruption in the region until mid-March; therefore, first quarter statistics will not be fully reflective of the current moment in the commercial real estate sector. Yet, first quarter activity reinforced a market-wide position of strength, on which the region will stand to weather the stall in business.
Philadelphia’s Central Business District (CBD) continued its strong late-cycle performance with 137,000 square feet of positive absorption tallied in the first quarter, trimming vacancy down to 12.4 percent. Maintaining a prevalent trend over the past few years, the CBD welcomed over 100,000 square feet of new-to-market companies, including Mindspace, a coworking operator which signed for 42,000 square feet at The Wanamaker. NKF Managing Director Matt Guerrieri noted, “When the economy re-opens, firms in expensive gateway markets may look closer at Philadelphia as a talent-rich, affordable office market option for operational diversification or relocation.”
