PHOENIX, AZ – The Phoenix office of JLL has released its Q3 2016 Phoenix Office Report, highlighting benchmarks including the lowest vacancies since 2008 and still-rising rents. Still, Phoenix remains one of the most affordable office markets on the West Coast.

“More companies are recognizing that Phoenix has an extremely strong labor pool and very affordable cost of living,” said JLL Managing Director John Bonnell. “All three of these factors are big wins for companies seeking to escape the high prices of Northern California or other primary markets.”

“New York-based Oscar is an example of this,” said JLL Executive Vice President Ryan Bartos, referencing the health insurance company’s recent move into 95,000 square feet at The Circuit, at 615 S. River Dr. in Tempe. “Oscar was excited that Phoenix not only provided affordable real estate but that cool, creative office product was available in our market. The company is also very focused on providing their employees with a strong quality of life and liked the fact that Phoenix has so much to offer.”

Companies like Oscar have helped reduce overall total vacancy in metro Phoenix to 19.7 percent in the third quarter, down significantly from the recessionary peak of 28.1 percent and signalling continued improvement in the market. At 2.6 million square feet year-to-date, total positive net absorption is also on track to exceed 3 million square feet by year’s end – the highest level of absorption since 2005, when 4 million square feet was absorbed.

These factors are creating some notable submarket trends, including:

Asking rents have increased 50.8 percent in South Scottsdale since 2011.

• The South Scottsdale submarket represents the largest percentage gain in average asking rent rates in metro Phoenix over the past five years.
• Asking rents increased from $20.73 per-square-foot (Full Service Gross) in 2011 to $31.26 per-square-foot as of third quarter 2016.
• The Galleria Corporate Centre had the highest asking rent growth of all properties in metro Phoenix, rising from $21.12 to $38.00 per-square-foot – or 80 percent – over the same period.

The Tempe submarket is a close second, with an increase of 34.6 percent.

• In Tempe, average asking rates grew from $21.63 to $29.12 per-square-foot – or 34.6 percent – over the same time period.
• Hayden Ferry Lakeside currently has the highest asking rent in the entire Valley, at $45.00 per-square-foot.

However, Phoenix still remains one of the most affordable office markets on the West Coast.

• Phoenix is home to one of the most affordable office markets in the West, behind only Salt Lake City and

Sacramento, with a current asking rent of $22.68 and $23.52 per-square-foot (Full Service Gross), respectively.

• The asking rent in San Francisco is 204 percent more expensive and Los Angeles is 57 percent more expensive than Phoenix, making the Valley a popular destination for companies looking to expand and relocate outside of California.

To read full report click here: phoenix-office-insight-q3-2016-jll for office statistics click here: phoenix-office-statistics-q3-2016-jll

James P Robertson, Jr, MBA, CCIM, Sr. Commercial Associate Broker at Realty Executives Tucson has accepted the National Association of Realtors (NAR) appointment to the 2017 Professional Development Committee of the national organization.

The Committee is comprised of 30 Members with the goal of establishing future initiative for NAR education, manage the Graduate REALTOR Institute (GRI) program including the REALTOR® Institute accreditation process, and to encourage cooperative educational efforts with the NAR societies, institutes and councils, state and local associations and other industry-related organizations.

Term of the appointment runs from December 1, 2016 to November 30, 2017.

James has also served as Chairman of the CCIM Southern Arizona Chapter and a Board member from 2016-2018 for the CCIM Institute.  He has also served as a member of the CCIM International Activities Committee.

“On behalf of the entire Leadership Team, it will be an honor to have James serve on the 2017 Professional Development Committee,” said Bill Brown, 2017 NAR President.

The NAR commercial community includes commercial members, real estate boards, committees, subcommittees and forums; and NAR commercial affiliate organizations – CCIM Institute, Institute of Real Estate Management, Realtors® Land Institute, Society of Industrial and Office Realtors®, and Counselors of Real Estate.

Approximately 70,000 NAR members specialize in commercial real estate brokerage and related services including property management, counseling and appraisal. In addition, more than 200,000 members are involved in commercial transactions as a secondary business.

Phoenix, AZ – ABI Multifamily, Arizona’s largest locally-owned, dedicated multifamily brokerage and advisory firm, is pleased to announce its regional expansion with the opening of the San Diego, CA office. John Kobierowski, Senior Managing Partner, states:

Considering the synergies between the San Diego and Arizona markets, with many of our current clients investing in both areas, we feel it’s an opportune moment to begin our regional office expansion in San Diego. We are pleased to be able to offer our clients in Southern California the same high level of service and expertise that has made us the leading dedicated multifamily brokerage in Arizona, and look forward to fostering new relationships in San Diego and surrounding areas.

With its expansion into San Diego, ABI Multifamily is now the Southwest’s fastest growing multifamily brokerage company. From its creation in 2013, by industry leading advisors, ABI has become Arizona’s, and now the Southwest’s, leading exclusively multifamily brokerage and investment services provider. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, with internal proprietary systems and external resources, hiring the multifamily industry’s best and brightest brokers and staff, the company has experienced tremendous growth and received numerous industry awards, including CoStar’s 2015 Power Brokerage. ABI has become a leading resource of information for journalists, government officials and multifamily stakeholders in the markets in which it operates.

ABI Multifamily is the Southwest’s leading brokerage and advisory services firm that focuses exclusively on apartment investment transactions. The experienced advisors at ABI Multifamily have completed billions of dollars in sales and thousands of individual multifamily transactions. ABI Multifamily incorporates a global approach with regional real estate expertise to successfully complete any type of multifamily transaction, regardless of size and complexity.