The South Jersey commercial real estate market appears to be moving from recovery to growth, according to the latest quarterly market analysis from Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a premier Southern New Jersey commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in South Jersey commercial real estate listings and services.

Trends in the Southern New Jersey commercial real estate market in the third quarter were mostly positive, the company’s third quarter report said, a continuation of positive trends noted in the previous quarter.  These positive trends include increases in new leases and renewals and further positive absorption of vacant properties, including unoccupied South Jersey medical space.

New leases and renewals totaling approximately 398,778 square feet of Southern New Jersey office space and Southern New Jersey medical space were executed in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties in the second quarter.  These new deals and renewals including several significant spaces, ranging in size from 6,000 to almost 37,000 square feet.  Expansions and new deals for South Jersey office space, including South Jersey medical space, continued to increase in the third quarter, representing 54 percent of all transactions, a 2 percent hike from the second quarter.  Positive absorption for the third quarter was about 137,366 square feet, up more than 20 percent from the previous quarter.  Finally, another estimated 530,000 square feet of deals were expected to close by December 31 or in early 2015.  Four of these anticipated transactions alone totaled about 300,000 square feet.

“The market’s fundamentals continue to strengthen, and it seems like the economy has found its footing after a prolonged period of recovery,” said Jason Wolf, founder and principal of Wolf Commercial Real Estate.  “We’re still a long way off from pre-recession levels, but hiring is up, office employment is up, and businesses are showing signs of expansion, all of which bodes well for the South Jersey commercial real estate market.”

Wolf’s third quarter analysis noted that Burlington County’s prime 3M locations again outpaced the rest of the region, and that the tightening in those areas is causing demand to build for vacancies for Southern New Jersey office space and Southern New Jersey medical space in Camden County, a trend that has been ongoing all year.

Other highlights from the report for the South Jersey office space market, which includes South Jersey medical space, were:

— The vacancy rate for Southern New Jersey office space and Southern New Jersey medical space was 14.2 percent in the third quarter.

— Average rents for South Jersey office space, which includes South Jersey medical space, were unchanged from third quarter 2014.  Class A & B product saw strong support in the range of $10.00-$14.00/sf NNN or $21.00-$24.00/sf gross while the overall market average showed strong support in the range of $10.00-$12.00/sf NNN or $20.00-$22.00/sf gross.

— New lease activity for Southern New Jersey office space and Southern New Jersey medical space rose in the third quarter with approximately 215,794 square feet of new deals and approximately 182,984 square feet of renewals and/or expansions.

— The only hiccup in the third quarter report came from major private owners and REITS, all of whom reported a noticeable slowdown in prospect activity in 2014’s third quarter.  The slowdown is likely attributed to an expected seasonal slowdown in the summer months.

The South Jersey retail space market enjoyed a bounce back from a slow spring, according to the quarterly report from Wolf Commercial Real Estate.  Highlights in the Southern New Jersey commercial real estate market’s retail area include:

— A bump in tourism bolstered regional retail sales figures, allowing for slight but continued growth.

— Overall retail vacancies in the tri-county area were 15.1 percent, a decrease of about half a point from the previous quarter.  This is a particularly good sign since the vacancy rate had been rising during the first half of 2014.

— Rental rates for Class A South Jersey retail space showed strong support in the $30.00-$40.00/sf NNN range, basically unchanged from the previous several quarters.

— Class B product rental rates also remained stable with support in the $15.00-$25.00/sf NNN range.

The Southern New Jersey commercial real estate market report is based on research conducted by Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Southern New Jersey commercial real estate broker specializing in South Jersey commercial real estate listings and services, and includes snapshots of the South Jersey office space, South Jersey medical space and South Jersey retail space markets, as well as details on the major deals being consummated or planned.

The full report is available upon request from Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Southern New Jersey commercial real estate brokerage firm that has extensive expertise in South Jersey commercial real estate listings and services.

For more information about South Jersey medical space or any South Jersey commercial properties, please contact Jason Wolf (856-857-6301; jason.wolf@wolfcre.com), Christina Del Duca (856-857-6304; christina.delduca@wolfcre.com), Todd Levin (856-857-6319; todd.levin@wolfcre.com), Scott Seligman (856-857-6305; scott.seligman@wolfcre.com) or Christopher Henderson (856-857-6337; chris.henderson@wolfcre.com) at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, the foremost Southern New Jersey commercial real estate broker.

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