CBRE Research: Ciudad Juárez absorption back in black, strong start to 2018

Absorption In Positive Territory

Following a soft Q4 2017 that recorded negative net
absorption, the Juárez industrial market began
2018 on better footing. There were three separate
new leases over 100,000 sq. ft. and overall net
absorption was 385,735 sq. ft. This net absorption
was lower than the same quarter last year but the
pipeline of active users in the market is well above
average at the start of 2018, which should boost net
absorption figures in coming quarters and help
absorb the new speculative (spec) construction
recently delivered and underway.

Vacancy Remains Low

The healthy net absorption during the quarter
pushed the market-wide vacancy rate down, by 10
basis points (bps), compared to the previous
quarter. Year-over-year, the vacancy rate declined
from 6.2% to 5.0%. This rate is significantly lower
than the current cycle average of just under 10.0%.

Asking Rates See Flat Quarterly Growth

Market-wide asking rates increased by $0.01 per sq.
ft. compared to Q4 2017 while Class A rates were
unchanged. Only Class B saw a decline, by $0.01
per sq. ft., due to changes in asking rates for two
available properties. Annual growth was stronger.
The market-wide rate grew by $0.20 per sq. ft.,
Class A increased by $0.06 per sq. ft., and Class B
increased by $0.12 per sq. ft.

Construction Still Active

With the delivery of a 216,000 sq. ft. spec project in
the Southeast submarket and a 55,000 sq. ft. buildto-
suit (BTS) in the Southwest, space under
construction declined since Q4 2017. However, it
remained at a high level with 727,723 sq. ft. under
construction. This includes two spec projects in
the Southeast submarket, totaling 438,000 sq. ft.
Also under construction were three BTS projects,
two of which are expansions of existing properties.

More Info: https://www.cbre.com/research-and-reports/Ciudad-Juarez-Industrial-MarketView-Q1-20180