PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Company relocations and expansion in Greater Phoenix continued to capture headlines in 2016. CBRE Research tracked 74 company announcements during 2016 that totaled nearly 17,000 new jobs. Note, these jobs are company projections and are usually totaled over a three to five year time period. Not surprisingly, the majority of these company announcements are concentrated in Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale – areas that attract companies because of their amenities and access to talent. As a result, these location boast some of the strongest submarkets in the metro and are expected to remain high performers during the near term.
Among these announcement, the most active industries expanding were concentrated in office-using sectors including tech and financial services. Growth in office-using jobs over the past two-years resulted in a new market record for net absorption during the two-year span. These job announcements along with limited amounts of new supply underpin an outlook for continued improvement in office market fundamentals.
Overall, Phoenix metro employment grew 2.2% in 2016, adding roughly 42,100 new jobs. Heading in to 2017. The forecast is much more optimistic. According to University of Arizona Business and Research Center, Phoenix employment is expected to grow 3.2%, representing 63,000 jobs. These jobs will support demand for commercial real estate during the coming year as new jobs support consumer spending (retail), fuel the need for office space and continue to drive industrial and logistics demand.
To see metro map Click here