Other challenges, according to the survey, include excess inventory, with 33% of the votes; creating product differentiation, 21%; anticipation of a market bubble, 17%; and lack of parking, also with 17%. Although not seen as that important in the metro area, lack of parking was seen as the No. 1 challenge nationwide.

The metro area, however, was in lockstep with the rest of the nation, in that it is leasing most of its office space to the banking and finance industry. The Internet and technology industries also made the top three.

Corporate real estate managers who responded to the poll were extremely bullish about the local market's outlook. A total of 96% of managers surveyed are confident that that business will be as good as or better in the next six months as in the prior six months.

Some 70% of the respondents said the average space requirement for tenants is between 1,000 sf and 10,000 sf. And 67% of them said their average leasing deal this year was up to $500,000. Meanwhile, 8% said their average deal is valued between $500,000 and $1 million; 8% said it is between $1 million and $2 million; and 4% said their average leasing deal is between $3 million and $4 million.

When asked an open-ended question on challenges to new development, a typical response was that inventory levels needed to be reduced before new spec development is considered. One broker said that more needs to be done to attract Fortune 500 companies to Denver.

The survey also found that the No. 1 amenity requested by metro-area tenants is food service. This is consistent with those of many of southern cities, such as Jacksonville and Tampa, FL, as well as Dallas, but differs from other areas of the country, such as California. In California, WiFi is the most frequently requested amenity.

Instant Insights /

Survey Exposes Fear of Oversupply, Importance of Food Service and Parking

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