Commercial real estate has faced plenty of challenges since the pandemic, but several markets are bouncing back and expected to see large improvements in 2021. In particular, real estate investment trusts as well as multifamily and industrial real estate are expected to be among some of the strongest sectors within the commercial industry this year.
The National Association of REALTORS® unveiled its picks for the top commercial real estate markets to watch for 2021 during Wednesday’s virtual inaugural Commercial Real Estate Forecast Summit. The event featured a panel of leading economists who addressed the pandemic’s impact on commercial real estate. During the event, NAR released a report announcing the following top 10 commercial real estate markets for 2021 (listed in alphabetical order):
- Austin-Round Rock, Texas
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.
- Charleston-North Charleston, S.C.
- Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.
- Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.
- Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.
- Raleigh, N.C.
- Salt Lake City
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.
- Tucson, Ariz.
“The top commercial real estate markets that are expected to outperform the rest of the nation are generally affordable and able to draw new residents with a greater flexibility to work from home,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “These growing markets also offer much lower office and retail rents and are, therefore, able to attract new and expanding businesses.”
NAR identified the top 10 markets by factoring in 25 indicators that reflected the area’s economic, demographic, housing, and commercial market conditions throughout the multifamily, office, industrial, retail, and hotel property sectors. Some of the factors weighed included GDP growth, unemployment rate, median household income, consumer spending, number of business openings, population growth, and building permits.
Source: National Association of REALTORS®
