The increase in domestic energy exploration and production will spur office investment opportunities in U.S. markets like Dallas, Pittsburgh and Oklahoma City, according to the new report ’13 Trends for 2013′ published by Los Angeles-based CBRE Group.
CBRE forecasts that most of the top energy markets in the U.S. are seeing employment growth, particularly in office-using sectors. This, in turn, will offer opportunities for investors willing to venture outside of traditional gateway markets, with office valuations well below the national average.
Elsewhere in the commercial real estate sector, CBRE predicts a transformation of the supply chain by e-commerce will accelerate changes in distribution facilities and locations, significantly affecting industrial and retail real estate. Distribution markets where the share of distribution-specific stock is greater than the national average – including Dallas and Riverside, Calif. – are at the center of the nation's supply chain because they have the infrastructure to justify the construction of large intermodal distribution facilities.
Furthermore, CBRE forecasts that an aging population will significantly drive apartment rental demand during this decade. Wider availability of affordable, longer-term rental opportunities for senior citizens could help unlock more demand for multifamily housing properties and lead to higher rents, CBRE adds.
‘The slow but steady economic recovery portends positive trends for the U.S. commercial real estate market,’ says Jon Southard, director of forecasting at CBRE Econometric Advisors.
