TEANECK, NJ-For the latest quarter, the New Jersey industrial real estate market posted a shaky performance, with negative absorption in the Northern part of the state and a flat market in Central Jersey. That's the assessment of David Houston Jr., president of Colliers Houston & Co., based here.
According to Houston, the vacancy rate rose to 6.4% from 5.9%, "considerably above anticipated levels," Houston says. "It marked the third straight quarter of rising vacancy rates."
In Central Jersey, meanwhile, the vacancy remained flat at 7.5%, which was well above the lower levels that were achieved in 2004. The causes, however, were quite different.
"Central New Jersey has had a flurry of new construction," Houston says, noting that the total could approach 6.5 million sf this year. North Jersey, meanwhile, had only a fraction of that activity, about one million sf, "and the rise in vacancies was due to a drop in demand, not an oversupply."
Nationally, the industrial market posted a shaky first quarter, according to numbers from Colliers International, with absorption "considerably below forecasted levels," says ross Moore, SVP and director of research for Colliers International. Still, rents nationally posted a small increase.
"Despite a slow start, it's too early to sound the alarm," Moore says. "The underlying economy, with the exception of the housing sector, continues to register measured growth."
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