The South Jersey commercial real estate market experienced an overall strong year in 2013 despite moderation in leasing activity in the fourth quarter, an achievement that positions the market segment for an even stronger 2014, according to a new quarterly market analysis from Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that specializes in South Jersey and Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, including Philadelphia retail space and other Philadelphia commercial properties.

Many positive trends in the fourth quarter and the year again proved the resiliency of South Jersey’s commercial real estate market, the Philly commercial real estate brokerage firm reported.

“Total leasing activity was slightly off this quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2012, but we saw 14.5% growth in activity in our market in 2013,” said Jason Wolf, founder and principal of Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm. “As exciting as it is to report this surge, based on the conditions in place, we expect 2014 to be even stronger.”

The area’s commercial real estate market was very active in the fourth quarter, with further stabilization of rents, a pending mega-deal for a 24-building office/flex portfolio, and a great deal of prospecting setting up a high number of transactions that will consummate in the early part of the new year, according to the report issued by Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philly commercial real estate broker that specializes in South Jersey and Philly commercial real estate listings and services, including Philly retail space and other Philadelphia commercial properties.

New leases and renewals executed in the three counties surveyed totaled approximately 374,121 square feet, a decline of nearly 1.7%, compared to the fourth quarter 2012. But the Philadelphia commercial real estate broker reported +/-1,625,190 square feet of total activity for the year in the same geographic region, compared to +/-1,419,276 square feet in 2012. Notably, expansions and new deals remained strong this quarter, with net absorption at approximately 102,294 sf.

The continuing nationwide economic rebound, in part, fueled the strong demand in the region’s commercial real estate market, the report said. The stock market achieved several record high closes, finishing up 26% for the year, and both the state and the national unemployment rates improved. New Jersey’s unemployment rate closed the fourth quarter at 7.8%, falling nearly two full points over the year. The national unemployment was 7% at year end.

The two most notable developments in the quarterly report were the continuing reduction of the region’s vacancy rate, which has now dropped to approximately 15%, and Liberty Property Trust’s (NYSE: LRY) announcement that its entire office/flex portfolio in the region was put under agreement. The portfolio comprises 1,188,285 square feet in 24 buildings.

Other office market highlights in the report from Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philly commercial real estate broker that specializes in South Jersey and Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and service, including Philadelphia retail space and other Philadelphia commercial properties:

• Average rents for Class A & B product continue to show strong support in the range of $11.00-$14.00/sf NNN or $21.00-$24.00/sf gross, with an overall market average showing strong support in the $11.00-$11.50/sf NNN or $21.00-$21.50/sf gross for the deals completed during the fourth quarter. This is essentially unchanged from the previous quarter, the Philly commercial real estate brokerage firm said.

• Burlington County maintained a significantly lower office vacancy rate than Camden County.  Moorestown, Marlton and Mount Laurel (3M) continued to show strength, while a large share of the region’s vacancies remained in Voorhees, Pennsauken, and the west side of Cherry Hill.

• A very active pipeline of deals covering approximately 400,000 sf was in place and will be completed soon.

• All of the major private owners and REITS showed a significant increase in prospect activity for the quarter, and are all cautiously optimistic for 2014.

For the retail market, the Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in South Jersey and Philly commercial real estate listings noted that despite weak holiday sales figures, owners were cautiously optimistic as the result of robust retail leasing activity in the region. Highlights from the retail section of the report include:

• The overall retail vacancy rate in the tri-county area showed tremendous improvement, hovering at about 10.7% in comparison to the 17-18% range at the end of 2012.

• Class A retail product rental rates continue to show strong support in the range of $30.00-$40.00/sf NNN.

• Class B product shows support in the range of $15.00-$23.00/sf NNN.

The full quarterly report is available upon request from Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philly commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in South Jersey and Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, including Philly retail space and other Philadelphia commercial properties.

For more information about Philadelphia office space or any Philadelphia commercial properties, please contact Jason Wolf (215-799-6900, jason.wolf@wolfcre.com) or Leor Hemo (215-799-6900, leor.hemo@wolfcre.com) at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philadelphia commercial real estate broker.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate is a premier Philly commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of South Jersey and Philly commercial real estate listings and services that include Philly retail space and other Philadelphia commercial properties.  We market commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other South Jersey and Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors and sellers.  Please visit our websites for a full listing of Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.