Atlanta Overview
Atlanta vacancy rate rose to 16.7% across Metro Atlanta and exceeding 20% in some submarkets. The increase in vacancy has driven a decline in rental rates, thus giving tenants greater opportunity and more options to reduce their occupancy costs. Not only are landlords competing with new deliveries in some submarkets, but the additional space for sublease on the market has increased to over 3.5 million square feet, providing for aggressive deals.
The Atlanta market is only just beginning to enter a period of a few years with many maturing loans on commercial properties, in which we will see much more delinquency, leading to increasing cautiousness when negotiating lease terms.
Tenant's Market
The recession is affecting all markets and all industries. As we have continued to see unemployment numbers rise, vacancy rates have increased and rents have decreased. Landlords are willing to work with shorter lease terms to get them through the next couple years, anticipating a turn around in 2011 or 2012.
Tenants with good credit have found flexibility and many options available in the market. Though short term leases are more prevalent, a tenant can really take advantage of a soft market with securing a long term lease of seven years or more. This can be seen with tenants who are able to foresee a clear view of the long term strategy of the company, and in coordination, align their real estate needs with their strategic plan.
We see opportunity to significantly save on overall occupancy costs. There are many possibilities to upgrade the space, increase the square footage, and even move up from a class B building to a class A building. It is important to exercise caution with reevaluating your current lease, as some landlords are financially unstable.
It is necessary to engage a tenant representative for advisory services, to benchmark the tenant’s current building and market situation in order to capitalize and take advantage of the market.
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