It’s been a very successful year for Commercial Partners
Realty. This year we closed nearly $21 million in transactions totaling over 350,000
square feet of commercial space. Our agents are poised to continue this
momentum into 2016. The Tampa Bay market supports our optimism.
Overall vacancy rates in the Tampa Bay commercial markets
have been decreasing throughout 2015 while lease rates for office and
industrial properties have steadily increased, despite a small drop in retail
lease rates.
Continuing positive absorption in the office, retail and
industrial markets and unusually steady summer activity has built momentum that
we expect will carry well into 2016. Strong demand for large industrial spaces
is pushing new development. Meanwhile, low office vacancy combined with a lack
of parking in the prime downtown areas is leading to an increased interest in suburban
markets with lower rates and better parking options.
The area’s economic recovery has done much to help the
commercial real estate market. Unemployment rates in Tampa Bay have been
steadily declining since this summer. Leisure and hospitality industries
experienced the largest employment gains in the area with the first half of
2015 seeing a record number of tourists visiting Florida. Tampa Bay has experienced
high job growth in 2015, adding nearly 33,000 jobs this year with more expected
as several major companies (Accusoft, BlueGrace Logistics, ReliaQuest) move
into the area and Lufthansa adds a non-stop air route between Tampa and
Frankfurt.
We have thoroughly enjoyed helping all of our clients the
past year and look forward to serve Tampa Bay’s commercial real estate needs in
2016 and beyond.
