Liberty Tower, at 605 Chestnut St., will be Chattanooga’s newest commercial property when the renovation is complete.Poor jobs growth may be holding back the Chattanooga-area market for commercial real estate, officials say.
In May, when the economy appeared to be gaining steam, the National Association of Realtors trumpeted upcoming vacancy rates countrywide that would fall to 16 percent from 16.3 percent by the second quarter of 2013.
Rent was expected to increase 2 percent in 2012, and 2.5 percent in 2013 for office units, and a little less for industrial space, according to the NAR.
But that all changed when job creation slowed, said Cleveland, Tenn., developer Gary Rogers.
“The cheese has moved,” Rogers said at a recent meeting for commercial developers, lenders and Realtors. “There’s not a lot of organized capital for smaller deals.”