At Northwest Key Commercial Real Estate, we care deeply about the way in which market trends, economic conditions, and business conditions affect our clients and tenants.

Part of this passion comes from our interest in staying abreast of current commercial real estate trends so that we can better forecast for our business, as well as for our client’s and tenants. Still, we’ve learned that if we can pay attention to where business owners, and leaders are putting their time and energy, we’ll be more able to predict how national and global trends will affect our small market here in Central Oregon.

This quarter we’re looking at three different real estate forecasts published recently to glean insights into the competitive landscape and share common themes and predictions with you!

National Trends

The article, Commercial Real Estate Investment Outlook from NASDAQ, takes a look at some of the current state of commercial real estate investing and how higher interest rates are affecting the market through the eyes of Aaron Jodka, National Director of Capital Markets Research for Colliers. 

Here are the key takeaways from the interview with Aaron Jodka:

• 
  Defensive Assets Prevail: Domestically and globally, defensive assets, such as multifamily and industrial, remain a hot commodity for investors with uninvested funds.
• Safe Harbor Investments: Nationally, investors are leaning toward investing in assets that fall into the safe-harbor category.
• Market Stabilization: The real estate market is anticipated to stabilize in the second half of 2023, but as we’ve seen already, the first half will remain in the red.

Pacific Northwest Trends

Lloyd Low, the executive of JLL out of Seattle, shared his insights with The Registry about leasing trends in the pacific northwest after the first quarter of 2023 in the article, 2023 Outlook: Insights on Leasing in the Pacific Northwest.

Below are essential insights from the interview with Lloyd Low:

• Professional Service Firms Lead the Way - With the tech and corporate office landscape changing significantly and office leasing shifting to be expiration based, one sector has remained strong – professional services firms.
• Creativity and Flexibility - It’s more important than ever for leasing opportunities, owner expectations, and property management firms to stay creative and flexible in this environment.
• Watch for Return to the Office - Many companies are asking employees to come back to the office full time. This will inevitably lead to a change in demand for office space, as the businesses reconfigure.

Central Oregon Trends

Cascade Business New is a leading source of news for investors, business owners, and professionals in Central Oregon. Last month, CBN shared insights about the economic forecast for the rest of 2023 from a number of local industry leaders. 

Along with the overall anticipation that this year the Central Oregonians are in for a bit of a rollercoaster, here are some of the the other key takeaways from the article, Central Oregon Economic Outlook 2023: Hang on For a Wild Ride!

• 
  We’ll see continued population growth - Which will positively impact the job market for businesses, but will continue to strain the housing market, according to Josh Nehner, Economist from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis.
• Watch for growing entrepreneurial community and expanding post-secondary education system - focused on delivering relevant training, and a diverse mix of industry acceleration to help insulate Central Oregon from economic storms, according to Jon Stark, executive director of EDCO.
• Look for rapid expansion of surrounding communities - Both South Deschutes County, as well as Prineville are seeing record capital investement projects, as well as rapid single-family housing expansion and growth, according to area managers at EDCO.
• Office and industrial space are in demand - While other sectors have suffered, office and industrial space are still in high demand in Central Oregon.

Read the full economic outlook for Central Oregon, in this pdf version of the Cascade Business News issue, pages 11 - 22.

At Northwest Key, we will continue to follow the national and local trends closely, and although there is continued unpredictability in the commercial leasing and real estate market, we are optimistic that the Central Oregon market will continue strengthen, and grow.

Are you interested in chatting more about your leasing, commercial property management or real estate needs? Let’s talk!