Travis Ackerman Dissects Second-quarter North Colorado Office Space Market

Leading North Colorado real estate professional Travis Ackerman pours over latest office market figures.

One of the top commercial brokers in the region, Travis Ackerman is a director for Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Real Estate based in the northern Colorado city of Fort Collins. Recently ranked as the top industrial broker in the area, Ackerman delves into figures from the Fort Collins area’s office space market as robust sales activity hits close to a 100 percent quarter-over-quarter increase.

“The North Colorado office market continued to provide strong fundamentals throughout the second quarter of 2019,” reveals Ackerman. “Economic indicators for the office space market in and around Fort Collins are promising,” he adds, “with unemployment down compared to the same period last year, much in line with wider U.S. employment figures.”

Overall market indicators also look promising, according to the expert. “Overall vacancy is down from 5.3 percent in the second quarter of 2018 to just 3.9 percent today,” Ackerman reveals. This represents a decrease in the overall vacancy of 110 basis points year-on-year, he explains. “Even with a slight increase in direct versus overall, a vacancy has decreased significantly compared to figures from one year ago,” further adds the expert.

Other positives include an increase in direct average gross rental rates and modest year-over-year growth, supported by continued demand for office space in and around Fort Collins and across much of North Colorado, according to Ackerman.

“A 27 percent quarter-over-quarter bump in leasing activity coupled with robust sales figures, equivalent to an almost 100 percent quarter-over-quarter increase, also made for good news here in Fort Collins during the last three months,” Ackerman remarks.

Touching briefly on construction, Ackerman reveals that two new buildings delivered during the second quarter of 2019, with more than half of the near-60,000 square feet of new space pre-leased at delivery. A further four buildings remain under construction with completion expected before the end of the year.

Overall, North Colorado office fundamentals remain strong according to Travis Ackerman, despite increasing construction costs across much of the state. Rental rate growth, he suggests, will continue, largely due to rising—although modest, compared to previous years—real estate taxes.

“Additionally, with limited new developments in the pipeline owing to rising construction costs in Colorado, high demand will continue,” says Ackerman, “heavily concentrated, in particular, on the medical sector.”

“With fierce competition in a tight market,” he adds, wrapping up, “landlords will need to provide significant tenant finish allowances to expedite leasing.”

Travis Ackerman is a director for Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Real Estate specializing in the sale and lease of land and industrial, retail, and office space in North Colorado. Since 2007, Colorado State University graduate Ackerman has been involved in a total of more than 500 transactions worth in excess of $350 million. Known in the North Colorado real estate community for his integrity and work ethic, realtor and Colorado native Travis Ackerman is now recognized as one of the top commercial brokers in the region.