NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is pleased to announce that Lisa Mikolay has been named as Office Manager.
Prior to joining NAI Pittsburgh Commercial, Ms. Mikolay was the Executive Assistant at a local real estate company and the Office Manager at a local architecture firm. Ms. Mikolay brings many years of management experience and proven marketing skills to one of Pittsburgh’s most successful commercial real estate firms.
“We are very excited to have Lisa as part of our team. Her presence makes us an even stronger company as we move forward as one of Pittsburgh’s premier commercial real estate providers”, according to William Leone, Managing Partner.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
Monday, April 12, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
NAI PITTSBURGH COMMERCIAL APPOINTED AS EXCLUSIVE BROKER
Pittsburgh, PA - (March 23, 2010) -
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial has been engaged to lease Northpointe Technology Center II, a 30,000 square foot new construction flex project with a target delivery date of Fall 2010. Northpointe is located along Route 28 at Exit 18. The space will be ideal for office start-ups or larger office users, and for those in need of light manufacturing space.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial will also be responsible for the leasing efforts at Northpointe Technology Center I, an existing 30,000 SF Flex/Light Manufacturing building.
John Bilyak, Principal & Director of Industrial Brokerage and Jessica L. Jarosz, Associate, of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial, are representing the Armstrong County Industrial Development Authority in this exciting new project. Feel free to contact John or Jessica at 412.321.4200 for more information or to schedule a tour.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial has been engaged to lease Northpointe Technology Center II, a 30,000 square foot new construction flex project with a target delivery date of Fall 2010. Northpointe is located along Route 28 at Exit 18. The space will be ideal for office start-ups or larger office users, and for those in need of light manufacturing space.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial will also be responsible for the leasing efforts at Northpointe Technology Center I, an existing 30,000 SF Flex/Light Manufacturing building.
John Bilyak, Principal & Director of Industrial Brokerage and Jessica L. Jarosz, Associate, of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial, are representing the Armstrong County Industrial Development Authority in this exciting new project. Feel free to contact John or Jessica at 412.321.4200 for more information or to schedule a tour.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Pittsburgh region tops nation in new office tenants
By Sam Spatter, FOR THE PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Pittsburgh led the nation during 2009 in the amount of office space leased or occupied by new tenants, the chief economist for Grubb & Ellis, a national commercial real estate company, said Tuesday.
"The region did remarkably well versus other markets," said Bob Bach, during the firm's 2010 Commercial Real Estate Forecast Update at the Duquesne Club, Downtown.
The region filled 693,276 square feet of office space -- equal to about 40 football fields -- which helped reduce the office vacancy rate to about 15 percent -- from about 16 percent -- while other cities, such as Philadelphia, had 2 million square feet vacated last year, increasing office vacancy to 16.8 percent, Bach said.
The overall increase in occupancy was fueled by Westinghouse Electric Co.'s move to about 500,000 square feet of space at its new world headquarters in Cranberry, and Dick's Sporting Goods occupancy of its new 670,000-square-foot headquarters in Findlay, at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Other gains included K&L Gates law firm occupying 251,000 square feet of space in K&L Gates Center, formerly One Oliver Plaza Building, Downtown, and the state's leasing of space in three Downtown buildings, now that the State Office Building, Downtown, has been sold to Millcraft Industries Inc. Because the state owned the building, the office space was not included in previous office inventories.
Offsetting losses included about 387,000 square feet of space at Westinghouse's former Monroeville campus and 289,000 square feet of space K&L Gates is vacating at the Henry W. Oliver building, Downtown. But BNY Mellon Corp. already has leased 100,000 square feet of space at the Monroeville site.
Bach said class A rental rates Downtown are predicted to increase to $22.75 this year from $21.75 per square foot last year, while suburban office rates could increase to about $20.85 from about $20.40 per square foot of space.
"Dwindling class A space will force tenants to consider second generation space, and the limited availability of larger blocks of space will provide upward pressure on class A rates," he said.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Pittsburgh led the nation during 2009 in the amount of office space leased or occupied by new tenants, the chief economist for Grubb & Ellis, a national commercial real estate company, said Tuesday.
"The region did remarkably well versus other markets," said Bob Bach, during the firm's 2010 Commercial Real Estate Forecast Update at the Duquesne Club, Downtown.
The region filled 693,276 square feet of office space -- equal to about 40 football fields -- which helped reduce the office vacancy rate to about 15 percent -- from about 16 percent -- while other cities, such as Philadelphia, had 2 million square feet vacated last year, increasing office vacancy to 16.8 percent, Bach said.
The overall increase in occupancy was fueled by Westinghouse Electric Co.'s move to about 500,000 square feet of space at its new world headquarters in Cranberry, and Dick's Sporting Goods occupancy of its new 670,000-square-foot headquarters in Findlay, at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Other gains included K&L Gates law firm occupying 251,000 square feet of space in K&L Gates Center, formerly One Oliver Plaza Building, Downtown, and the state's leasing of space in three Downtown buildings, now that the State Office Building, Downtown, has been sold to Millcraft Industries Inc. Because the state owned the building, the office space was not included in previous office inventories.
Offsetting losses included about 387,000 square feet of space at Westinghouse's former Monroeville campus and 289,000 square feet of space K&L Gates is vacating at the Henry W. Oliver building, Downtown. But BNY Mellon Corp. already has leased 100,000 square feet of space at the Monroeville site.
Bach said class A rental rates Downtown are predicted to increase to $22.75 this year from $21.75 per square foot last year, while suburban office rates could increase to about $20.85 from about $20.40 per square foot of space.
"Dwindling class A space will force tenants to consider second generation space, and the limited availability of larger blocks of space will provide upward pressure on class A rates," he said.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial Leases 3,500 SF at 125 Hillvue Lane, Pittsburgh, PA 5237
Pittsburgh, PA - (March 17, 2010) -
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is pleased to announce the 3,500 SF lease signing of Nine10 Interactive, Inc at 125 Hillvue Lane in Pittsburgh, PA 15237.
Edward R. Lawrence, of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial represented the landlord in the transaction. Gail Beek of ACRES represented Nine10 Interactive, Inc.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is pleased to announce the 3,500 SF lease signing of Nine10 Interactive, Inc at 125 Hillvue Lane in Pittsburgh, PA 15237.
Edward R. Lawrence, of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial represented the landlord in the transaction. Gail Beek of ACRES represented Nine10 Interactive, Inc.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
NAI Global Named Global Broker of the Year
The readers of Private Equity Real Estate (PERE) magazine named NAI Global the Global Broker of the Year in the PERE Awards 2009.
“Each year, the readers of PERE magazine and PERENews.com nominate and choose the firms, individuals and deals they believe stood out from the crowd the previous year,” said Zoe Hughes, Senior Editor, Real Estate. “2009 was a year in which the private real estate investing world experienced a tremendous amount of turmoil, so to be selected in this year’s awards is a tremendous accolade from our readers and a vote of confidence in what lies ahead for NAI Global.”
“This award is a testament to the quality and commitment of NAI Global and its professionals around the world in serving the private equity and financial sectors,” said Jeffrey M. Finn, NAI Global President & CEO. “Looking ahead, we will continue to innovate and add value with focused service offerings like our Special Asset Solutions group or the Commercial Property PowerSale™ program, to deliver exceptional results for clients around the globe.”
NAI Global offers a wide range of services for the commercial real estate investment sector, including asset management, acquisition/disposition, property management, leasing/agency services, valuation and advisory, market analytics, auction and portfolio optimization. The Global Broker of the Year award from PERE serves as recognition that NAI Global is the best at identifying and anticipating a client’s investment and brokerage needs.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
“Each year, the readers of PERE magazine and PERENews.com nominate and choose the firms, individuals and deals they believe stood out from the crowd the previous year,” said Zoe Hughes, Senior Editor, Real Estate. “2009 was a year in which the private real estate investing world experienced a tremendous amount of turmoil, so to be selected in this year’s awards is a tremendous accolade from our readers and a vote of confidence in what lies ahead for NAI Global.”
“This award is a testament to the quality and commitment of NAI Global and its professionals around the world in serving the private equity and financial sectors,” said Jeffrey M. Finn, NAI Global President & CEO. “Looking ahead, we will continue to innovate and add value with focused service offerings like our Special Asset Solutions group or the Commercial Property PowerSale™ program, to deliver exceptional results for clients around the globe.”
NAI Global offers a wide range of services for the commercial real estate investment sector, including asset management, acquisition/disposition, property management, leasing/agency services, valuation and advisory, market analytics, auction and portfolio optimization. The Global Broker of the Year award from PERE serves as recognition that NAI Global is the best at identifying and anticipating a client’s investment and brokerage needs.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial Represents National Association of EMS Educators
Pittsburgh, PA - (March 10, 2010)
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is pleased to announce the 3,600 square foot lease signing of National Association of EMS Educators at 250 Mt. Lebanon Boulevard, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The National Association of EMS Educators was established in 1995 as a membership organization designed to promote and provide a voice for EMS Education. Today, it is a national professional association comprised of educators, instructors, teachers, training officers, directors and advisors in EMS in both the private and public sectors.
Ralph Egerman, Principal of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial, represented EMS Educators in this transaction.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is pleased to announce the 3,600 square foot lease signing of National Association of EMS Educators at 250 Mt. Lebanon Boulevard, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The National Association of EMS Educators was established in 1995 as a membership organization designed to promote and provide a voice for EMS Education. Today, it is a national professional association comprised of educators, instructors, teachers, training officers, directors and advisors in EMS in both the private and public sectors.
Ralph Egerman, Principal of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial, represented EMS Educators in this transaction.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Pittsburgh, Buncher set to develop Allegheny riverfront
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
By Timothy McNulty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Longtime dreams of new Allegheny riverfront housing, commercial spaces, bike paths and other recreational amenities are a step closer to reality, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is set to announce today.
The city plans to join forces with the Buncher Co. real estate firm to redevelop some 80 acres of riverfront land, starting in the Strip District and going north 6.5 miles to the foot of Highland Park. The city would combine parcels it owns -- including the historic Produce Terminal on Smallman Street and the 22-acre former Tippins International site at 62nd Street -- with industrial properties Buncher owns in Lawrenceville and the Strip District to create the redevelopment site.
Construction could kick off in the Strip District in 2013, in the 40 undeveloped acres behind the terminal building on the south bank of the Allegheny River. The city and the Urban Redevelopment Authority will spend some $20 million in capital funds to remediate the site and prepare it for redevelopment. Buncher will then follow master plans for that site -- and other parcels dotting the riverfront up through Lawrenceville -- that architects Perkins Eastman have been compiling for the URA over the past year.
The hope is to follow the city's 1990s success in using public-private partnerships to redevelop the former LTV site into the bustling SouthSide Works development.
"This historic development partnership will allow us to reconnect our neighborhoods to the rivers," Mr. Ravenstahl said in a statement. The plans will "unlock the true potential of this portion of the riverfront."
Perkins Eastman has been working for more than a year on the Allegheny Riverfront Vision plan, under a $350,000 contract from the URA. It drew on similar plans from the city's Riverlife Task Force and used input from community meetings the last several months, and is set to deliver the plan next month.
Officials stressed that the developments could take years, or even decades, to complete. The URA bought the 123-acre LTV site in 1993 and the first buildings from the Soffer Organization weren't completed for 11 years. Unlike that project, the 80 acres in the current plan are spread over miles and not completely contiguous.
"It's a dream come true, but a work in progress," said state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, who has been pushing redevelopment of the Allegheny riverfront since joining Pittsburgh City Council 23 years ago.
The first formal step is a URA board vote Thursday on an agreement with Buncher. The URA will agree to adding infrastructure such as streets, parks and trails to the parcels behind the terminal building on Smallman Street, which Mr. Ferlo said Buncher will likely use for residential construction. (The Strip has experienced the largest increase in housing sales prices and demand in the city, Perkins Eastman found.)
The estimated $20.5 million cost of those upgrades would likely be paid through local, state and federal capital funds and tax increment financing (TIF). By city estimates, the work would create the equivalent of 5,000 new jobs and $6 million in new tax revenue.
After that project, developers would work up the river, possibly relocating some industrial firms in Buncher-controlled properties from 43rd to 48th streets in Lawrenceville up to the Tippins site less than 20 blocks north. That would create space for riverfront access for Lawrenceville residents -- access, parks and other riverfront amenities are major parts of the master plan. Traffic studies for Butler Street and surrounding roadways would be included.
"It's a progressive domino effect of land uses, for higher and better uses of the corridor," Mr. Ferlo said.
The city plans to honor leases through 2012 for those currently within the produce terminal building and then relocate them. The adjacent construction in the first phase of the project could start in 2013. The Neighbors in the Strip community group already has plans -- partially funded by the URA -- for a public market in portions of the terminal building.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
By Timothy McNulty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Longtime dreams of new Allegheny riverfront housing, commercial spaces, bike paths and other recreational amenities are a step closer to reality, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is set to announce today.
The city plans to join forces with the Buncher Co. real estate firm to redevelop some 80 acres of riverfront land, starting in the Strip District and going north 6.5 miles to the foot of Highland Park. The city would combine parcels it owns -- including the historic Produce Terminal on Smallman Street and the 22-acre former Tippins International site at 62nd Street -- with industrial properties Buncher owns in Lawrenceville and the Strip District to create the redevelopment site.
Construction could kick off in the Strip District in 2013, in the 40 undeveloped acres behind the terminal building on the south bank of the Allegheny River. The city and the Urban Redevelopment Authority will spend some $20 million in capital funds to remediate the site and prepare it for redevelopment. Buncher will then follow master plans for that site -- and other parcels dotting the riverfront up through Lawrenceville -- that architects Perkins Eastman have been compiling for the URA over the past year.
The hope is to follow the city's 1990s success in using public-private partnerships to redevelop the former LTV site into the bustling SouthSide Works development.
"This historic development partnership will allow us to reconnect our neighborhoods to the rivers," Mr. Ravenstahl said in a statement. The plans will "unlock the true potential of this portion of the riverfront."
Perkins Eastman has been working for more than a year on the Allegheny Riverfront Vision plan, under a $350,000 contract from the URA. It drew on similar plans from the city's Riverlife Task Force and used input from community meetings the last several months, and is set to deliver the plan next month.
Officials stressed that the developments could take years, or even decades, to complete. The URA bought the 123-acre LTV site in 1993 and the first buildings from the Soffer Organization weren't completed for 11 years. Unlike that project, the 80 acres in the current plan are spread over miles and not completely contiguous.
"It's a dream come true, but a work in progress," said state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, who has been pushing redevelopment of the Allegheny riverfront since joining Pittsburgh City Council 23 years ago.
The first formal step is a URA board vote Thursday on an agreement with Buncher. The URA will agree to adding infrastructure such as streets, parks and trails to the parcels behind the terminal building on Smallman Street, which Mr. Ferlo said Buncher will likely use for residential construction. (The Strip has experienced the largest increase in housing sales prices and demand in the city, Perkins Eastman found.)
The estimated $20.5 million cost of those upgrades would likely be paid through local, state and federal capital funds and tax increment financing (TIF). By city estimates, the work would create the equivalent of 5,000 new jobs and $6 million in new tax revenue.
After that project, developers would work up the river, possibly relocating some industrial firms in Buncher-controlled properties from 43rd to 48th streets in Lawrenceville up to the Tippins site less than 20 blocks north. That would create space for riverfront access for Lawrenceville residents -- access, parks and other riverfront amenities are major parts of the master plan. Traffic studies for Butler Street and surrounding roadways would be included.
"It's a progressive domino effect of land uses, for higher and better uses of the corridor," Mr. Ferlo said.
The city plans to honor leases through 2012 for those currently within the produce terminal building and then relocate them. The adjacent construction in the first phase of the project could start in 2013. The Neighbors in the Strip community group already has plans -- partially funded by the URA -- for a public market in portions of the terminal building.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Pittsburgh's apartment market No. 1
By Sam Spatter, FOR THE PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Apartment buildings are hot properties in the Pittsburgh market, and at least five major projects are in the works to satisfy demand from renters and investors, local real estate experts said.
One of the projects is a proposal for 220 apartments in the former State Office Building, Downtown, according to experts and the developer.
Millcraft Industries Inc. completed the purchase of the 16-story building on Monday, paying $4.6 million. Millcraft officials had delayed announcing how they would use the building, saying only that they would begin work by late summer on anything from residential condos to apartments to retail space.
The state moved 800 employees out of the building over the past few months into other Downtown buildings.
"We are considering the 220 apartments for the building, but we also would consider an office tenant who offers to occupy the entire building," said Lucas Piatt, Millcraft Industries' executive vice president. He said there are no plans to convert the building into a hotel.
Other projects under development include the conversion of the former Goodwill Industries headquarters building into 64 apartments in the South Side; the former South Side Vo-Tech School into 71 units; 100 units in an apartment in the Oakland Portal project in Oakland; and 112 units in the Highland Building in East Liberty.
Apartment buildings are holding their value during difficult economic times, said Paul D. Griffith, managing director for Integra Realty Resources in Pittsburgh.
"What's driving the demand for apartments is the low vacancy rates, with Pittsburgh having among the lowest in the nation," said Griffith, who spoke this week at a meeting of the local chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.
Pittsburgh's apartment occupancy rate of 96.6 percent is ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to a mid-year 2009 survey by M/PF Research, a Texas firm that tracks rental markets.
The occupancy rate is the best in the nation by a fairly sizable margin, said Greg Willett, M/PF vice president, research and analysis.
Federal aid is available to help finance apartment projects. All of the projects mentioned are considering using the Department of Housing and Urban Development's 221(d)4 mortgage insurance program, said Cheryl Campbell, field office director of the Pittsburgh office.
"The South Side Vo-Tech project has received a firm commitment, and the other four have expressed interest but not submitted an application," she said. The program offers longer financing and lower-interest rates, she said.
Two area apartment complexes -- the Morrowfield in Squirrel Hill with 156 units and the Waterford in Collier with 315 units -- are on the market and have attracted interest from investors, said Cynthia Kamin, senior vice president, CB Richard Ellis.
"About 70 percent of the inquiries, including some offers, have come from out-of-town investors," she said. Recently, out-of-town buyers are getting more competition from local buyers, she said.
In the past, 70 percent of the buyers were from out of town. Recently, they consist of 50 percent, she said.
Out-of-town buyers bought three major apartment complexes within the past 12 months.
Brookview Associates, an affiliate of St. Louis-based developer Brookview Group Ltd., paid $10.2 million for the 241-unit Penn Towers in Wilkins; Morgan Management LLC of Pittsford, N.Y., paid $11.6 million for the 291-unit Westpointe Apartments in Robinson; and Morgan Communities of Pittsford purchased the 232-unit Lincoln at North Shore. No sales price was released.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Apartment buildings are hot properties in the Pittsburgh market, and at least five major projects are in the works to satisfy demand from renters and investors, local real estate experts said.
One of the projects is a proposal for 220 apartments in the former State Office Building, Downtown, according to experts and the developer.
Millcraft Industries Inc. completed the purchase of the 16-story building on Monday, paying $4.6 million. Millcraft officials had delayed announcing how they would use the building, saying only that they would begin work by late summer on anything from residential condos to apartments to retail space.
The state moved 800 employees out of the building over the past few months into other Downtown buildings.
"We are considering the 220 apartments for the building, but we also would consider an office tenant who offers to occupy the entire building," said Lucas Piatt, Millcraft Industries' executive vice president. He said there are no plans to convert the building into a hotel.
Other projects under development include the conversion of the former Goodwill Industries headquarters building into 64 apartments in the South Side; the former South Side Vo-Tech School into 71 units; 100 units in an apartment in the Oakland Portal project in Oakland; and 112 units in the Highland Building in East Liberty.
Apartment buildings are holding their value during difficult economic times, said Paul D. Griffith, managing director for Integra Realty Resources in Pittsburgh.
"What's driving the demand for apartments is the low vacancy rates, with Pittsburgh having among the lowest in the nation," said Griffith, who spoke this week at a meeting of the local chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.
Pittsburgh's apartment occupancy rate of 96.6 percent is ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to a mid-year 2009 survey by M/PF Research, a Texas firm that tracks rental markets.
The occupancy rate is the best in the nation by a fairly sizable margin, said Greg Willett, M/PF vice president, research and analysis.
Federal aid is available to help finance apartment projects. All of the projects mentioned are considering using the Department of Housing and Urban Development's 221(d)4 mortgage insurance program, said Cheryl Campbell, field office director of the Pittsburgh office.
"The South Side Vo-Tech project has received a firm commitment, and the other four have expressed interest but not submitted an application," she said. The program offers longer financing and lower-interest rates, she said.
Two area apartment complexes -- the Morrowfield in Squirrel Hill with 156 units and the Waterford in Collier with 315 units -- are on the market and have attracted interest from investors, said Cynthia Kamin, senior vice president, CB Richard Ellis.
"About 70 percent of the inquiries, including some offers, have come from out-of-town investors," she said. Recently, out-of-town buyers are getting more competition from local buyers, she said.
In the past, 70 percent of the buyers were from out of town. Recently, they consist of 50 percent, she said.
Out-of-town buyers bought three major apartment complexes within the past 12 months.
Brookview Associates, an affiliate of St. Louis-based developer Brookview Group Ltd., paid $10.2 million for the 241-unit Penn Towers in Wilkins; Morgan Management LLC of Pittsford, N.Y., paid $11.6 million for the 291-unit Westpointe Apartments in Robinson; and Morgan Communities of Pittsford purchased the 232-unit Lincoln at North Shore. No sales price was released.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Rockpointe Industrial Park on the Market
Pittsburgh Business Times
by Tim Schooley
Rock Ferrone’s ambition to develop a busy industrial park around an air strip in West Deer Township near Pittsburgh appears to have reached the end of the runway.
On Monday, NAI Pittsburgh Commercial announced that it has been hired to market the 263-acre Rockpointe industrial park for sale, either in its entirety or in smaller parcels.
“For whatever reason, it just didn’t work out and he wasn’t able to attract the building owners and users like he needed to,” said Gregg Broujos, a principal for NAI working on the assignment for Ferrone. “He’s going to move on and sell it so that someone else can finish it off.”
The sale includes the 3,500-foot air strip and its surrounding acreage. Not included in the sale are the two buildings owned and occupied by Management Safety Associates, Inc. or the building owned and operated by Joseph B. Fay Company. Independent of the sale of the park, Zambrano Corp. is also marketing for sale a 65,000 square foot office building within the park which is fully vacant.
John Bilyak, principal and director of Industrial brokerage for NAI, called the land included in the sale “western Pennsylvania flat” and estimated that 60 percent to 70 percent of the overall property included in the sale is developable. The industrial park is fully equipped with all utilities and infrastructure.
The park is zoned industrial with a business and technology overlay, according to NAI.
The goal is to sell the property to one buyer but Broujos and Bilyak said the land could be subdivided for smaller users as well, with seven acre-parcels selling in the range of $30,000 to $60,000 per acre.
Close to the Pittsburgh Mills and 25 minutes from Downtown Pittsburgh, the park is accessible to Route 28. Bilyak expects demand to be strong since industrial, office and land in the Allegheny Valley corridor he described as “historically tight.”
“If you try to identify a three-to-seven-acre parcel along the 28 corridor you really have to go up into Armstrong county before you can have options,” said Bilyak.
The property goes on the market as its status as a Keystone Opportunity Zone, which enables the owner to avoid state and local taxes, is set to expire at the end of the year after a ten-year term, said Bilyak.
Bilyak and Broujos hope to sell the property this year and are marketing it nationwide.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
by Tim Schooley
Rock Ferrone’s ambition to develop a busy industrial park around an air strip in West Deer Township near Pittsburgh appears to have reached the end of the runway.
On Monday, NAI Pittsburgh Commercial announced that it has been hired to market the 263-acre Rockpointe industrial park for sale, either in its entirety or in smaller parcels.
“For whatever reason, it just didn’t work out and he wasn’t able to attract the building owners and users like he needed to,” said Gregg Broujos, a principal for NAI working on the assignment for Ferrone. “He’s going to move on and sell it so that someone else can finish it off.”
The sale includes the 3,500-foot air strip and its surrounding acreage. Not included in the sale are the two buildings owned and occupied by Management Safety Associates, Inc. or the building owned and operated by Joseph B. Fay Company. Independent of the sale of the park, Zambrano Corp. is also marketing for sale a 65,000 square foot office building within the park which is fully vacant.
John Bilyak, principal and director of Industrial brokerage for NAI, called the land included in the sale “western Pennsylvania flat” and estimated that 60 percent to 70 percent of the overall property included in the sale is developable. The industrial park is fully equipped with all utilities and infrastructure.
The park is zoned industrial with a business and technology overlay, according to NAI.
The goal is to sell the property to one buyer but Broujos and Bilyak said the land could be subdivided for smaller users as well, with seven acre-parcels selling in the range of $30,000 to $60,000 per acre.
Close to the Pittsburgh Mills and 25 minutes from Downtown Pittsburgh, the park is accessible to Route 28. Bilyak expects demand to be strong since industrial, office and land in the Allegheny Valley corridor he described as “historically tight.”
“If you try to identify a three-to-seven-acre parcel along the 28 corridor you really have to go up into Armstrong county before you can have options,” said Bilyak.
The property goes on the market as its status as a Keystone Opportunity Zone, which enables the owner to avoid state and local taxes, is set to expire at the end of the year after a ten-year term, said Bilyak.
Bilyak and Broujos hope to sell the property this year and are marketing it nationwide.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Natural gas workers boost real estate market
By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Marcellus Shale field can be portrayed as a boon or a bane, depending on whom you talk to, but to the Realtors operating in Washington County, there's not much of a downside.
Natural gas drilling companies and firms related to the development of the shale are doing some hiring locally. But many of the field crews, engineering experts and front-office workers are imported from out of state because they have an expertise that the native work force doesn't yet possess.
They've been coming here since 2003, scouting drilling sites and establishing satellite offices. In 2008 and 2009, the pace of new arrivals has quickened.
Their presence, and their need for housing, has helped keep afloat Washington County's middling real estate market.
"The transfers coming in. That's helped keep our market very strong here," said Bonnie Loya, a Coldwell Banker Realtor.
In Washington County last year, both average home price and median home price slipped slightly, according to RealSTATs, a local real estate information service. Still those numbers are stable compared with the rest of the country, and they could have been worse.
As it was, 2009 marked the first time in two decades that the Pittsburgh region's average home price dropped.
There's been talk in Pittsburgh about proposed Marcellus Shale gas rigs hurting property values -- the prospect of towering rigs in urban settings such as Baldwin have concerned residents and homeowners.
In rural and suburban Washington County, where the homes often are farther apart, there are still occasional run-ins between neighbors -- one charging another with ruining his view, his farm or the stream running through his property, for example -- and those will likely increase as new rigs number in the thousands this year.
But it's not enough to worry the people charged with selling the homes. And the fact that many properties are sold along with their mineral rights has helped to buttress land prices.
"The land prices have increased, if anything," said Karen Marshall, of the Karen Marshall Group, a Bethel Park-based realty group affiliated with Keller Williams.
"We're getting 93, 97 percent of asking price."
The big players in Marcellus Shale also need office space, and that's helped to goose the county's commercial leasing market.
"We've had great luck with companies coming in," Ms. Marshall said.
"Capital Oil & Gas, Texas companies ... all of my guys want to be in Washington County."
It's more than anecdotal; other home agents report the same. Southwestern Pennsylvania's natural low home churn, coupled with the newcomers, sometimes makes it seem like the gas workers are the only ones buying these days.
"The last house I just sold was for someone who was in that industry," said Kris Marra of Prudential Realty.
"Their next-door neighbors are in the business, too."
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
The Marcellus Shale field can be portrayed as a boon or a bane, depending on whom you talk to, but to the Realtors operating in Washington County, there's not much of a downside.
Natural gas drilling companies and firms related to the development of the shale are doing some hiring locally. But many of the field crews, engineering experts and front-office workers are imported from out of state because they have an expertise that the native work force doesn't yet possess.
They've been coming here since 2003, scouting drilling sites and establishing satellite offices. In 2008 and 2009, the pace of new arrivals has quickened.
Their presence, and their need for housing, has helped keep afloat Washington County's middling real estate market.
"The transfers coming in. That's helped keep our market very strong here," said Bonnie Loya, a Coldwell Banker Realtor.
In Washington County last year, both average home price and median home price slipped slightly, according to RealSTATs, a local real estate information service. Still those numbers are stable compared with the rest of the country, and they could have been worse.
As it was, 2009 marked the first time in two decades that the Pittsburgh region's average home price dropped.
There's been talk in Pittsburgh about proposed Marcellus Shale gas rigs hurting property values -- the prospect of towering rigs in urban settings such as Baldwin have concerned residents and homeowners.
In rural and suburban Washington County, where the homes often are farther apart, there are still occasional run-ins between neighbors -- one charging another with ruining his view, his farm or the stream running through his property, for example -- and those will likely increase as new rigs number in the thousands this year.
But it's not enough to worry the people charged with selling the homes. And the fact that many properties are sold along with their mineral rights has helped to buttress land prices.
"The land prices have increased, if anything," said Karen Marshall, of the Karen Marshall Group, a Bethel Park-based realty group affiliated with Keller Williams.
"We're getting 93, 97 percent of asking price."
The big players in Marcellus Shale also need office space, and that's helped to goose the county's commercial leasing market.
"We've had great luck with companies coming in," Ms. Marshall said.
"Capital Oil & Gas, Texas companies ... all of my guys want to be in Washington County."
It's more than anecdotal; other home agents report the same. Southwestern Pennsylvania's natural low home churn, coupled with the newcomers, sometimes makes it seem like the gas workers are the only ones buying these days.
"The last house I just sold was for someone who was in that industry," said Kris Marra of Prudential Realty.
"Their next-door neighbors are in the business, too."
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
Monday, March 1, 2010
Exclusive Listing - Rockpointe Business Air Park
NAI PITTSBURGH COMMERCIAL APPOINTED AS THE EXCLUSIVE BROKER FOR THE SALE OF ROCKPOINTE BUSINESS AIR PARK LOCATED IN WEST DEER TOWNSHIP, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PA 15084
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial has been engaged to sell the Rockpointe Business Air Park, a 263 acre industrial park with all public utilities and interior roadways developed and in place. The sale also includes an existing and operational 3,500’ air strip. The Park is zoned industrial with a business and technology overlay, and is home to Management Sciences Associates and the Joseph B. Fay Company.
The Park is available for sale in its entirety, or can be subdivided for development sites as small as 7 acres. Ideally located just 25 minutes from Downtown Pittsburgh, Rockpointe is easily accessible from the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Route 28 near the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills shopping and tourist center.
John Bilyak, Principal & Director of Industrial Brokerage, Gregg Broujos, Principal, & Jeffrey Adams, Associate, all of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial, are representing the owner in the sale of this asset.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
Friday, February 26, 2010
No vacancy: Office space in Oakland is tighter than ever
Thursday, February 25, 2010
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
If you're looking for premium office space in Oakland, you might want to look somewhere else
The perennially tight office market there couldn't be much tighter, registering a zero vacancy rate for top Class A
space in the last quarter, according to two real estate reports.
"In 20 years of doing commercial real estate, I don't think I've seen a zero vacancy rate in a significant market comparable to Oakland," said Aaron D. Stauber, president of New York-based Rugby Realty, which has extensive property holdings in Pittsburgh.
Oakland's vacancy rate is even more amazing, Mr. Stauber said, when compared with vacancy rates throughout the country and in some of the biggest cities that have been soaring as a result of the recession.
"In the context of what's happening in the rest of the country and the economy, it's mind-boggling," he said.
Fourth-quarter 2009 reports by the CoStar Group, a commercial real estate data firm, and CB Richard Ellis listed Oakland's Class A vacancy rate at zero. Another real estate firm, Grubb & Ellis, reported it at 2.8 percent, with all but 21,687 of 779,352 square feet of class A space taken. The vacancy rate for Class A space in Midtown Manhattan, by contrast, was 14.7 percent, according to one report.
"Zero is almost impossible to achieve, frankly. It's rare or an anomaly. You always have someone moving in or moving out. Traditionally, 96 to 97 percent is seen as 100 percent occupied," said Bill Hunt, president of the Elmhurst Group, which owns one fully occupied office building in Oakland.
Even after adding other classes of office space into the equation, Oakland still commands the lowest vacancy rate in the region, at 1.8 percent to 7.1 percent, depending on the report.
Factors filling Oakland nearly to the brim include the ever-growing demand for space by universities and medical institutions and the scarcity of private land available for new office development.
The high cost of building underground parking, a virtual must in Oakland, is a big factor in discouraging speculative office construction, said Jason Stewart, Grubb & Ellis vice president. He estimated that the cost of building one underground parking space could run $35,000 to $45,000.
The high demand for office space and the short supply have been a boon for Oakland landlords and merchants - as well as the Pittsburgh Technology Center and Downtown landlords, both of which offer an alternative to businesses, universities and others who can't find the space they want in Oakland.
Mr. Stauber said the region already has seen a spillover effect with the move of the UPMC headquarters to the U.S. Steel Tower, Downtown, and Google's move from Oakland to the Bakery Square development in Larimer, where it will be expanding.
"These are all indicators of what's going on," he said.
UPMC spokesman Paul Wood said one reason the health care giant moved its corporate offices to Downtown was to free up space for clinical services in Oakland.
"It's a great problem for the city of Pittsburgh to have," he said of Oakland's scarcity of space. "It's a sign of the relative economic strength of the region."
At the same time the lease rate for Class A space in Oakland - ranging from $24.30 a square foot in the Grubb & Ellis report to $27 a square foot in the CoStar report - was the highest in the region in the last quarter.
The $27 rate quoted by CoStar is up $1.25 a square foot from the first quarter of 2006, when the vacancy rate was 3.5 percent. Mr. Stauber said he has been told that some of the latest deals involve rents above $30 a square foot.
Georgia Petropoulos Muir, executive director of the Oakland Business Improvement District, said the low vacancy rates have been a "win-win" for landlords and merchants. While landlords don't have to worry about filling their space, retailers and restaurants benefit from the steady foot traffic from the universities, hospitals and private offices, she said.
"I'd love to see all my space filled," she said.
She added that while the office market is tight, especially for the premium space, there are vacancies, particularly in some of the smaller buildings with less than 10,000 square feet.
"If there's anyone out there looking to locate an office in Oakland, yes, there are properties [available]," she said.
For those seeking coveted premium space, some help could be on the way.
FWG Realty Inc. has revived plans for office buildings and a hotel on land bounded by Fifth, Forbes and Craft avenues. Known as the Oakland Portal project, the proposal includes three buildings totaling 375,000 square feet, along with underground parking.
The project had been on hold because of difficulties in securing financing.
However, Frank Gustine Jr., one of the partners, said the financing market had improved and FWG was looking to move ahead.
It hopes to build Class A space, aware of the short supply and high demand.
"We're getting our financing arranged. We're talking to people about that. We think we have a great site," Mr. Gustine said, adding FWG hopes to be in the position to announce a groundbreaking by spring or summer.
A group of developers, including Massaro Properties and Langholz Wilson Ellis, also is negotiating with Allegheny County to buy the Health Department building and property at 3333 Forbes Ave. in Oakland with plans to redevelop it into a hotel, office building and garage.
Elmhurst has plans to build a seven-story office building at Ruskin Avenue and Bayard Street later this year. Mr. Hunt said the development, which will include underground parking, would cost "north of $20 million."
With so little nonuniversity land available for use, Mr. Hunt predicted that developers soon would start to look to tear down older obsolete buildings to build new space.
Given the tight office market in Oakland, the bid by a county task force to create a public-private partnership to build a transit line linking Downtown and Oakland resonated with Mr. Stewart and Mr. Stauber.
"It's potentially a great relief valve for Oakland. Its users can look at Downtown now as being more accessible without having to depend on parking in Downtown or bus service," Mr. Stewart said.
"Oakland and Downtown ... they're almost symbiotic. The only thing lacking right now is a transportation system," Mr. Stauber added.
For the time being, though, it could be slim pickings in Oakland, particularly for users of Class A office space. Mr. Stewart, for one, doesn't see the factors creating the crunch changing anytime soon, meaning space will continue to be at a premium.
"The cost to build parking won't go down, and nobody's making land," he said.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
If you're looking for premium office space in Oakland, you might want to look somewhere else
The perennially tight office market there couldn't be much tighter, registering a zero vacancy rate for top Class A
space in the last quarter, according to two real estate reports."In 20 years of doing commercial real estate, I don't think I've seen a zero vacancy rate in a significant market comparable to Oakland," said Aaron D. Stauber, president of New York-based Rugby Realty, which has extensive property holdings in Pittsburgh.
Oakland's vacancy rate is even more amazing, Mr. Stauber said, when compared with vacancy rates throughout the country and in some of the biggest cities that have been soaring as a result of the recession.
"In the context of what's happening in the rest of the country and the economy, it's mind-boggling," he said.
Fourth-quarter 2009 reports by the CoStar Group, a commercial real estate data firm, and CB Richard Ellis listed Oakland's Class A vacancy rate at zero. Another real estate firm, Grubb & Ellis, reported it at 2.8 percent, with all but 21,687 of 779,352 square feet of class A space taken. The vacancy rate for Class A space in Midtown Manhattan, by contrast, was 14.7 percent, according to one report.
"Zero is almost impossible to achieve, frankly. It's rare or an anomaly. You always have someone moving in or moving out. Traditionally, 96 to 97 percent is seen as 100 percent occupied," said Bill Hunt, president of the Elmhurst Group, which owns one fully occupied office building in Oakland.
Even after adding other classes of office space into the equation, Oakland still commands the lowest vacancy rate in the region, at 1.8 percent to 7.1 percent, depending on the report.
Factors filling Oakland nearly to the brim include the ever-growing demand for space by universities and medical institutions and the scarcity of private land available for new office development.
The high cost of building underground parking, a virtual must in Oakland, is a big factor in discouraging speculative office construction, said Jason Stewart, Grubb & Ellis vice president. He estimated that the cost of building one underground parking space could run $35,000 to $45,000.
The high demand for office space and the short supply have been a boon for Oakland landlords and merchants - as well as the Pittsburgh Technology Center and Downtown landlords, both of which offer an alternative to businesses, universities and others who can't find the space they want in Oakland.
Mr. Stauber said the region already has seen a spillover effect with the move of the UPMC headquarters to the U.S. Steel Tower, Downtown, and Google's move from Oakland to the Bakery Square development in Larimer, where it will be expanding.
"These are all indicators of what's going on," he said.
UPMC spokesman Paul Wood said one reason the health care giant moved its corporate offices to Downtown was to free up space for clinical services in Oakland.
"It's a great problem for the city of Pittsburgh to have," he said of Oakland's scarcity of space. "It's a sign of the relative economic strength of the region."
At the same time the lease rate for Class A space in Oakland - ranging from $24.30 a square foot in the Grubb & Ellis report to $27 a square foot in the CoStar report - was the highest in the region in the last quarter.
The $27 rate quoted by CoStar is up $1.25 a square foot from the first quarter of 2006, when the vacancy rate was 3.5 percent. Mr. Stauber said he has been told that some of the latest deals involve rents above $30 a square foot.
Georgia Petropoulos Muir, executive director of the Oakland Business Improvement District, said the low vacancy rates have been a "win-win" for landlords and merchants. While landlords don't have to worry about filling their space, retailers and restaurants benefit from the steady foot traffic from the universities, hospitals and private offices, she said.
"I'd love to see all my space filled," she said.
She added that while the office market is tight, especially for the premium space, there are vacancies, particularly in some of the smaller buildings with less than 10,000 square feet.
"If there's anyone out there looking to locate an office in Oakland, yes, there are properties [available]," she said.
For those seeking coveted premium space, some help could be on the way.
FWG Realty Inc. has revived plans for office buildings and a hotel on land bounded by Fifth, Forbes and Craft avenues. Known as the Oakland Portal project, the proposal includes three buildings totaling 375,000 square feet, along with underground parking.
The project had been on hold because of difficulties in securing financing.
However, Frank Gustine Jr., one of the partners, said the financing market had improved and FWG was looking to move ahead.
It hopes to build Class A space, aware of the short supply and high demand.
"We're getting our financing arranged. We're talking to people about that. We think we have a great site," Mr. Gustine said, adding FWG hopes to be in the position to announce a groundbreaking by spring or summer.
A group of developers, including Massaro Properties and Langholz Wilson Ellis, also is negotiating with Allegheny County to buy the Health Department building and property at 3333 Forbes Ave. in Oakland with plans to redevelop it into a hotel, office building and garage.
Elmhurst has plans to build a seven-story office building at Ruskin Avenue and Bayard Street later this year. Mr. Hunt said the development, which will include underground parking, would cost "north of $20 million."
With so little nonuniversity land available for use, Mr. Hunt predicted that developers soon would start to look to tear down older obsolete buildings to build new space.
Given the tight office market in Oakland, the bid by a county task force to create a public-private partnership to build a transit line linking Downtown and Oakland resonated with Mr. Stewart and Mr. Stauber.
"It's potentially a great relief valve for Oakland. Its users can look at Downtown now as being more accessible without having to depend on parking in Downtown or bus service," Mr. Stewart said.
"Oakland and Downtown ... they're almost symbiotic. The only thing lacking right now is a transportation system," Mr. Stauber added.
For the time being, though, it could be slim pickings in Oakland, particularly for users of Class A office space. Mr. Stewart, for one, doesn't see the factors creating the crunch changing anytime soon, meaning space will continue to be at a premium.
"The cost to build parking won't go down, and nobody's making land," he said.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Pittsburgh Named One of America's Best Housing Markets
Francesca Levy, 02.19.10, 04:50 PM EST
Forbes.com
Low foreclosures, rising home prices and affordability make these parts of the country good bets for home buyers.
Forbes.com
Low foreclosures, rising home prices and affordability make these parts of the country good bets for home buyers.
Families in the market for a house are shopping at the right time: Nationally, homes are near the most affordable they've been in 18 years. In the fourth quarter of 2009 housing was 62.4% more affordable than the same time a year earlier, according to the Housing Opportunity Index, published quarterly by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo.
The best place to buy right now: Pittsburgh. For a housing market to be attractive it should have appreciating prices that show homeowners are making wise investments; an affordability rating that gives middle-class families with good credit entry into the market; and a relatively low number of foreclosures, which keeps prices stable and indicates there isn't an excess of inventory.
In Depth: America's Best Housing Markets
Pittsburgh has all three. In the metro area, 85% of homes are affordable to those making the median family income of $62,500. At the same time, foreclosures are low: Only one home is in foreclosure for every 120 housing units--the second-best record of all the cities we ranked; and home prices are expected to increase 2.67% by the end of the year.
Yes, the city has suffered greatly since the decline of its manufacturing-dependent economy. But that slump helped its real estate market dodge the rapid run-up in prices that doomed so many markets after the housing boom.
"Manufacturing cities like Pittsburgh have suffered so much for the last two, three, four years that there’s still a population base in that region, and now those areas are sort of attractive," says James P. Gaines, research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. "Home prices are so low, some service-level jobs can be created, so it's not surprising perhaps that there's been a revitalization of some of those communities."
Behind the Numbers To find the country's best housing markets, we used the Housing Opportunity Index, a metric created by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo ( WFC - news - people ) that determines affordability by measuring median home prices against median incomes. Using the 40 largest housing Metropolitan Statistical Areas that the HOI ranks, we then factored in Moody's ( MCO - news - people )Economy.com's one-year forecast for the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a measure of sales prices in major markets, to find out where home prices were expected to rise. Finally we included the 2009 Foreclosure report from RealtyTrac, ranking cities by their percentage of foreclosures. We averaged the rankings for all these measures to arrive at an overall score.
The reason for taking all these factors into account is that alone each doesn't say much about a housing market's health. An area could be affordable because prices were dragged down by a glut of foreclosures. Similarly, a low foreclosure rate doesn't guarantee that home-buying is a good investment, as values could be flat or falling. Even looking at home-price forecasts in a vacuum won't tell you everything about a market, since some areas have dramatic price increases ahead due to severe drops back when the bubble burst.
Like Pittsburgh, Columbus, Ohio, might not jump to mind as one of the country's best cities for housing, but job-rich suburbs surround the city and 87% of middle-income families can afford a home. That combination creates significant pull for homebuyers.
Also looking strong is Louisville, Ky., a city whose low foreclosure rate--only 1.15% of homes are in foreclosure, half the national average--illuminates it as one of the cities least affected by this aspect of the dramatic housing market collapse of the past three years. Louisville had less of a market boom than coastal cities and vacation destinations, so it didn't have as far to fall.
Jobs Stability Equals Housing Stability Strong industries have bolstered some of the cities on our list: The energy sector has kept jobs flowing into Texas oil town Houston, and that effect trickles into Dallas and Austin (which is also buoyed by technology jobs). A good job market means the housing outlook will stay strong. Houston home prices are expected to rise 1.2% by next year; it's one of only four of the markets we ranked where prices won't continue to slide, according to Moody's Economy.com.
Midwestern cities Indianapolis, Minneapolis and St. Louis make our list in spite of middling home-price forecasts because housing in these places is eminently affordable. Indianapolis has the highest HOI in the country, with decent housing accessible to 96% of families making the median income. In places like this the recession has weighed down home prices, but mortgage rates are still at historic lows, giving families a chance to get in on the ground floor.
Some markets are accessible to buyers because of a price slide now, yet still offer wise investment choices. In Minneapolis-St. Paul, which is ranked seventh in HOI, prices will continue to slide this year by three-quarters of a percent; but by 2012 they will have risen 2.82%.
Most real estate markets are struggling, some quite severely, so discussing the best ones is relative. But between the even-keeled housing climate of some Midwestern cities and the job opportunities in Texas, real estate in these areas is worth keeping an eye on.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial brokers awarded at SIOR Luncheon
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial brokers awarded at the Society of Industrial & Office Realtors (“SIOR”) Top Brokers and 2009 Deals of the Year Luncheon
On Tuesday, February 23, 2010, the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of Society of Industrial & Office Realtors (“SIOR”) held its annual awards banquet at the Duquesne Club in Downtown Pittsburgh to honor accomplished commercial real estate professionals around the region for transactions completed in 2009.
Paul D. Horan, Founding Principal of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial and John C. Bilyak, Principal & Director of Industrial Brokerage, were awarded the SIOR Industrial Lease of the Year Award. Mr. Horan and Mr. Bilyak represented Benshaw, Inc. in the 183,000 square foot lease of 615 Alpha Drive in RIDC Industrial Park.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
Friday, February 5, 2010
Pittsburgh region's office vacancy rate stable through '09
By Sam Spatter, FOR THE PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
The Pittsburgh region's office real estate market remained stable in 2009 with a vacancy rate of 15.5 percent, almost unchanged from 15.4 percent at the end of 2008, according to a report Friday.
The region showed an increase in new occupancy last year, said Grubb & Ellis in its Fourth Quarter 2009 Office Trends Report. The increase came from tenants moving from older buildings into new buildings, such as Three PNC Plaza, where about 326,000 square feet was occupied by the law firm Reed Smith and by PNC.
Besides Three PNC Plaza -- the first new Downtown office complex in over 20 years -- other new buildings occupied during the year were the 160,000-square-foot Bridgeside Point II in Oakland and the 70,000-square-foot Cranberry Business Park Building 110 in Cranberry.
Asking rental rates in Class A1 buildings Downtown ended 2009 at $26.97 per square foot, essentially unchanged from the third quarter of 2009. ClassA2 asking rental rates settled at $20.95, up 38 cents from the third quarter.
Notable leases signed in 2009 include Duquesne Light's 86,000 square feet at 411 Seventh Ave.; ANH Refractories Co., 63,182 square feet at Cherrington Corp. Center, Moon; Koppers Industries 59,000 square feet in Koppers Building, Downtown; and 40,000 square feet each at Bakery Square, Larimer-East Liberty, by Google Inc. and University of Pittsburgh and VA of Pittsburgh.
In the region's industrial real estate market, 2009 continued the trend of low vacancy rates, ending the year at 8.3 percent, down from 8.6 percent from the third quarter.
Tenants occupied an additional 570,859 square feet last year, primarily in new buildings at Clinton Commerce Park, near Pittsburgh International Airport. These included 210,000 square feet for Flabeg Corp. and 205,000 square feet for FedEx Smart-Post.
In the retail real estate market, store closings contributed to a decline in space occupied, with the vacancy rate rising to 8.2 percent from 6.6 percent at end of 2008. Even so, several new developments opened or were started.
Opened was Settlers Ridge, a 600,000-square-foot lifestyle shopping center in Robinson that is 94 percent leased, and started was McCandless Crossings, a 130-acre development in McCandless. Big Lots opened a 36,000-square-foot store in the former Kuhn's Quality Food store along McKnight Road, and SouthSide Works will add a 15,000-square-foot Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill this year.
The Pittsburgh region's office real estate market remained stable in 2009 with a vacancy rate of 15.5 percent, almost unchanged from 15.4 percent at the end of 2008, according to a report Friday.
The region showed an increase in new occupancy last year, said Grubb & Ellis in its Fourth Quarter 2009 Office Trends Report. The increase came from tenants moving from older buildings into new buildings, such as Three PNC Plaza, where about 326,000 square feet was occupied by the law firm Reed Smith and by PNC.
Besides Three PNC Plaza -- the first new Downtown office complex in over 20 years -- other new buildings occupied during the year were the 160,000-square-foot Bridgeside Point II in Oakland and the 70,000-square-foot Cranberry Business Park Building 110 in Cranberry.
Asking rental rates in Class A1 buildings Downtown ended 2009 at $26.97 per square foot, essentially unchanged from the third quarter of 2009. ClassA2 asking rental rates settled at $20.95, up 38 cents from the third quarter.
Notable leases signed in 2009 include Duquesne Light's 86,000 square feet at 411 Seventh Ave.; ANH Refractories Co., 63,182 square feet at Cherrington Corp. Center, Moon; Koppers Industries 59,000 square feet in Koppers Building, Downtown; and 40,000 square feet each at Bakery Square, Larimer-East Liberty, by Google Inc. and University of Pittsburgh and VA of Pittsburgh.
In the region's industrial real estate market, 2009 continued the trend of low vacancy rates, ending the year at 8.3 percent, down from 8.6 percent from the third quarter.
Tenants occupied an additional 570,859 square feet last year, primarily in new buildings at Clinton Commerce Park, near Pittsburgh International Airport. These included 210,000 square feet for Flabeg Corp. and 205,000 square feet for FedEx Smart-Post.
In the retail real estate market, store closings contributed to a decline in space occupied, with the vacancy rate rising to 8.2 percent from 6.6 percent at end of 2008. Even so, several new developments opened or were started.
Opened was Settlers Ridge, a 600,000-square-foot lifestyle shopping center in Robinson that is 94 percent leased, and started was McCandless Crossings, a 130-acre development in McCandless. Big Lots opened a 36,000-square-foot store in the former Kuhn's Quality Food store along McKnight Road, and SouthSide Works will add a 15,000-square-foot Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill this year.
NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE
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