The FINANCIAL — San Francisco, Ca. – Cushman & Wakefield released Tech Cities 2.0 an annual report that identifies existing and emerging tech centers increasingly driving the North American economy and details their impact on the commercial real estate sector.
A follow-up from last year’s inaugural Tech Cities 1.0 report, this year’s research reviewed all major North American markets, and groups the top cities into three categories based on how important the tech sector is to the local economy and real estate market: ‘tech is a critical component’ / ‘tech is a key driver’ / ‘tech is important’.
Ken McCarthy, Cushman & Wakefield’s New York-based Principal Economist and Applied Research Lead for the U.S. said Tech Cities 2.0 demonstrates the profound impact the tech sector has had on commercial real estate in what appears to be one fell swoop but has been building since the financial crisis of 2008.
McCarthy said New York City had seen significant growth in the TAMI sector (Technology, Advertising, Media and Information). “If Silicon Valley is the brains of the tech sector, then New York City is the creative center. In this cycle, tech has been very important to New York City. TAMI employment growth has been much stronger than many other sectors and that growth has been centered in that Midtown South of Market, and that market in particular has seen significant growth in terms of both property values and rents.”
The tech industry has changed the way its companies and also those traditionally non-tech approach commercial real estate said Robert Sammons, Cushman & Wakefield’s Senior Director, Northern California Research.
As well, he added that tech companies are driving demand as they continue to hunt for space and grabbing it in certain hot markets when they can find it. “With unemployment at 4.0% or lower in each of these markets, tech companies of all sizes are in a war for talent and must do their utmost to hold on to and recruit employees – and that means the best salaries, the best incentives, the best space and the best location. That last point has generally meant an urban or even suburban location that is mixed-use, walkable, bikeable and near mass transit,” he said
Combining employment, occupations, venture capital investment, and demographics statistics, this year’s list from Tech Cities 2.0 is separated into three major categories:
Tech is a critical component of the local economy and CRE market:
Austin
Boston
Provo
Raleigh/Durham
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Silicon Valley
Seattle
Washington, DC Metro
Tech is a key driver of the local economy and CRE market:
Atlanta
Dallas/Fort Worth
Denver
Minneapolis/St. Paul
Montreal
Portland, OR
Toronto
Vancouver
Tech is important to the local economy and CRE market, but there are other important sectors as well:
Baltimore
Charlotte
Chicago
Greater Los Angeles
South Florida
New York City
Philadelphia
Key findings from Tech Cities 2.0 include:
In the first of half of last year, 42% of the square footage in the top 100 leases in North America were signed by tech companies.
The fastest growing tech employment market since 2010 is Provo, Utah. Though a smaller market than the others on the list, the number of people employed by tech companies increased 64.9%, surpassing the 62.7% increase in San Francisco.
Average asking rents in cities like Atlanta, Austin, Seattle, and San Francisco have increased more than 50% since 2010.
Property prices are skyrocketing. Among the Top 25, property prices have increased on average by 59%, with the greatest increases happening in Austin, Silicon Valley, and San Francisco.
Cities that are targets for venture capital funding are the most important tech cities in North America. Among the Top 25, VC funding grew by an average of $2.0 billion compared to $457 million for the top 101 markets.
The top four cities for new construction are all cities where tech is a critical factor in the local real estate market, including: Austin, Raleigh/Durham, Seattle, and San Francisco.
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