Speaking on Business: CBRE

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. As the world’s largest commercial real estate services organization, CBRE is acutely aware of the importance that timely and accurate data plays into client’s decision-making power, particularly during times of economic uncertainty. CBRE’s Research Manager Sierra Hoffer shares more. SIERRA HOFFER: Recent headlines—particularly about financial markets—have raised alarms. However, despite current headwinds, Utah’s commercial real estate market—which has direct ties to economic performance—has been relatively insulated from the recent bank failures. To highlight specifics, office vacancy reached an all-time high in 2022. This was driven in part by an increase in sublease availability, as companies continue to scale back their office footprints. Tech tenants and call centers were the most common sublessors. Within Utah’s industrial market, 2022 marked the highest year on record for new deliveries, and this is a good thing, as industrial demand is strong. Even with such high construction levels, available space is still hard to come by. We’re seeing a similar occurrence in the multifamily market. Amid the higher cost of capital, new multifamily development is pushing forward in an effort to meet pent-up demand, but the housing shortage continues to be a challenge. Though we are experiencing some pause from investors, there is reason to be cautiously optimistic about the local commercial real estate industry. DEREK MILLER: CBRE Research delivers authoritative global thought leadership and deep local market intelligence to clients and colleagues around the world. To learn more, and access their reports, visit the CBRE website. I’m Derek Miller with the Salt Lake Chamber, Speaking on Business. Originally aired: April 11, 2023