Charleston is a great place to live, but it’s also a great place to work. As a result, the commercial real estate market remains strong and in demand.
“Charleston’s commercial real estate market continues to benefit from the overall population growth and economic growth in the Charleston region,” said Chris Cunniffe, Managing Broker at ENGEL&VÖLKERS.
However, Cuniffe added that the current market is also characterized by a high degree of caution among investors and users of commercial space.
“The main drivers of caution are uncertainty over the U.S tariff policy, high interest rates and high construction costs,” he said. “Currently, the retail market is very favorable for landlords, the industrial market is very favorable for tenants, and the office market is a mixed bag, with a high degree of variation from one submarket to another.”
Ashley Jackrel, senior vice president of office and investment sales at Avison Young, said that Charleston remains a strong market despite financing and market headwinds.
“The local office market is remarkably tight, especially in top-tier products, as business owners’ eye highly well-located office space to entice workers to return to the office,” she said.
Looking back, Thomas M. Boulware, SIOR, CCIM, and Broker-in-Charge at NAI Charleston, described last year’s market as challenging.
“Election years often cause investors to pause or take a ‘wait and see’ approach on who will prevail as the next president,” he said. “After the election, the market saw a significant increase in demand, which has seemed to wane a bit over the past 30 to 45 days. I’m not sure if this is related to the budget bill currently being debated in Congress, but I suspect that it has had an impact.”
