The Urban Land Institute (ULI) Columbus released their annual Real Estate Trends report last week, which provides insight from industry leaders on the state of residential, office, retail, industrial and mixed-use markets in the region. Overall, the report reveals that many real estate sectors are in strong recovery or growth phases.
Unsurprisingly, rental housing development may be the strongest sector as seen over the past few years with many new large-scale development announced in urban and suburban markets. Some survey respondents foresee the market peaking soon, while others note that senior housing is still a growth opportunity.
Markets for retail, for-sale housing and office space are all in recovery modes with specific regional markets poised for higher rates of growth in the near future. New Albany, Dublin, Easton, Polaris and Downtown are the five areas named as having the best prospects for growth. Respondents to the survey stated specifically that Downtown is past the tipping point and that it’s on its way to becoming a fully fleshed out neighborhood and not viewed an an alternative living style.
In the long term, the study says that continued real estate growth in Central Ohio is tied directly toward economic growth efforts and improved public transportation. Central Ohio is a region with moderate economic growth, but is not competing as strong as it could on a national level.
One other interesting prediction for the future of real estate is that Columbus may see more in the way of corporate relocations into urban areas, a trend already prevalent in other US metro areas. With the explosive growth in Downtown housing targeting the younger workforce, over two-thirds of the industry leaders interviewed predict that we may see offices following rooftops in the next five years.
To read the full “Real Estate Trends in Central Ohio 2014” report, CLICK HERE (PDF).