Rents Rising, Vacancy Rates Declining Through 2017

The commercial real estate market is expected to continue expanding at healthy, steady levels through 2017, according to a new economic forecast survey that predicts commercial real estate prices to rise by 10% in 2015, 6% in 2016 and 4.5% in 2017.

The ULI Real Estate Consensus Forecast, a semi-annual survey of economists and analysts, also projects commercial property rents to rise for all four major property types: 2% in retail, 4% in offices, 4.6% in multifamily, and 4.9% in industrial in 2015, with gains expected to continue for all four property types through 2017.

Additionally, the Consensus Forecast projects a slight decline in vacancy rates for office and retail from 2015 to 2017, while industrial availability and hotel occupancy rates will rise slightly in 2015 and plateau in 2016 and 2017.