(Save the date: RealShare Industrial 2012 comes to The Bankers Club, Miami, December 5 - 6.)
TAMPA-Sales activity is spiking in Tampa Bay’s office market. Jones Lang LaSalle is currently tracking 24 assets for sale—including nine class A properties spanning 1.8 million square feet.
On the class B front, the 132,981-square-foot Time Customer Service building in the Interstate 75/Interstate 4 Corridor traded as part of a 41-property portfolio in the third quarter. Bayview Pavillion, a 92,225-square-foot class A asset in Gateway sold for $9.9 million also traded in the quarter.
“It’s good time to sell because investors can get a better yield in a market like Tampa Bay versus a gateway market,” Chris Butler, managing director at JLL, tells GlobeSt.com. “Investors are focused on assets that are in solid submarkets and that are either well-leased or positioned to be fully leased.”
On the other side of the table, Butler says many current office building owners have held assets for a long time and are ready to reposition. In addition to the 24 assets JLL is currently tracking, he anticipates 1 million-plus square feet will find new owners by the end of 2012.
“I expect to see more rent growth in 2013,” Butler says. “Now is the time to buy. Any time the market gets like this we'll see class A tightening up first. So there's a little more of a waiting period on the class B opportunities.
No new construction was announced in the third quarter. However, JLL reports that talk is increasing about potential build-to-suit sites. As tenant leverage, especially for larger tenants, dries up, JLL says many tenants are considering the option to build-to-suit.
“As rents tick up and if they're sustainable, we could start seeing new construction. But rents have to tick up and remain there,” Butler says. “We are poised for new construction in either 2013 or 2014. Many of these buildings take two years to complete. So there's an opportunity for landlords and new investors to take advantage of a tightening market.”
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