The thing about commercial real estate is that it does not have an all-encompassing data source like the residential MLS (multiple listing service). This is due in part to how commercial real estate is developed, financed, used, and managed. Every property is unique, so those experienced market participants are the key to understanding the market.
One such firm in Naperville is Caton Commercial Real Estate Group. Steve Caton, one of the partners of the company with his father and sister have helped lead a team of commercial brokers since 2003. The boutique firm has 13 commercial brokers who specialize in retail leasing, tenant representation, investment sales, and land brokerage.
For most people, their connection to commercial real estate begins with retail or office leasing. Whether you are a business looking to expand and find a competitive edge in location or if you are an investor, looking to understand the best investment in commercial real estate, you must gain a complete understanding of the current status of the leasing market.
According to Steve, “Naperville is a very strong submarket for leasing within the overall Chicago market. Naperville, like the rest of the country was also affected by the recession, but has fully recovered.”
He also shared some very interesting data and the chart above: The current data for retail leasing asking rates for 1500-5000sf are higher than the 5-year average and are trending up. The current asking rate average for all of Naperville is $19.87 per sf NNN. The vacancy rate is slightly higher than the 5-year average at 28.9%, but that could be due to new construction. The overall health of the retail leasing market is strong in Naperville with a positive absorption of vacant space of 9,275sf over the past year which is a total leased space of small shop spaces of 143,317sf.
Rents in Naperville vary on the corridors that the properties exist on. For example, in downtown Naperville, there are asking rents of $55/sf NNN, and on north Rt 59 there are asking rents of $16/sf NNN.
In commercial real estate NNN stands for Triple Net, meaning the tenant pays for all operating expenses in addition to the rent, like: utilities, taxes, and repairs to the building (or space they occupy). To find the right advisor to help negotiate your next location, find the right space.
