Columbia, S.C. (April 24, 2017) – Newmark Grubb Wilson Kibler, a leading real estate services firm, has released its market reports for first-quarter 2017.  Charleston’s industrial and office real estate markets continue to report healthy numbers.

The Charleston office market ended the first quarter of 2017 with a vacancy rate of 7.1%, up from the previous quarter’s 6.6% vacancy rate, largely due to the number of deliveries seen across the market.

Some of the notable deliveries in the quarter included:

• 2387 Clements Ferry Road— A 41,420-square-foot facility, currently boasting 100% occupancy
• 526 Johnnie Dodds Boulevard—A 9,135-square-foot building, currently at 42% occupancy

During first-quarter 2017, five buildings totaling 57,055 square feet were completed in the Charleston/North

Charleston market area.  This compares to four buildings totaling 26,307 square feet in the previous quarter.

Vacant sublease space, on the other hand, declined significantly, down to 27,150 square feet in the first-quarter 2017 from 41,088 square feet in the previous quarter.

Rental rates continued to rise across the market, reaching a record high of $21.31/SF in the first-quarter 2017.  Buildings across all classes demanded all-time-high rates.  Class A buildings quoted rates of $30.41/SF, while Class B Buildings quoted $18.96/S.

The largest least signings over the quarter included:

• The 19,515-square-foot lease signed by The Salvation Army at 6209 Rivers Avenue in the North Charleston market
• The 12,736-square-foot lease signed by Cornerstone Wealth Advisory at 8550 Dorchester Road in the Dorchester County market
• The 6,854-square-foot lease signed by Sweetgrass Pediatrics at Sweetgrass Pediatrics Park West in the Mount Pleasant Market

The Charleston industrial market saw its overall vacancy rate hit a record low of 5.5% in the first quarter of 2017, down from 6.6% in the previous quarter.  At the same time, rental rates continued to rise, with quoted rates across the market clocking in at $5.66/SF.  Flex rates were up to $15.48/SF from $13.12/SF in the previous quarter, while warehouse rates increased to $5.17/SF from $4.99/SF over the same time period.

Six buildings totaling 292,002 square feet were completed in the Charleston/North Charleston market area during the first-quarter 2017.  This compares to four buildings totaling 504,010 square feet completed in fourth-quarter 2016.  Despite reporting lower numbers, there were still 6.8 million square feet of industrial space under construction at the end of the first-quarter 2017, so expect to see a healthy number of deliveries in the coming year.

Notable deliveries thus far in 2017 included:

• Airport Commerce Center, Building 300, a 100,000-square-foot facility that currently boasts 100% occupancy
• Google Data Center, an 82,505 square-foot building that is also currently 100% occupied

The largest lease signings during 2017 included:

• The 50,000-square-foot lease signed by The Inspectors, LLC at Berchtold in the North Charleston market
• The 39,000-square-foot de4al signed by Chadwell Supply South Carolina at Crosspoint Building 5 in the North Charleston market
• The 36,000-square-foot lease signed by Texene, LLC at 315 Industrial Drive in the Dorchester County market

To view full reports for Charleston, Greenville and Columbia please visit www.www.wilsonkibler.com/research.