Category: Insights

Roger Dieker, Partner “Build it and they will come.”  The line made famous by Kevin Costner’s 1989 classic film, Field of Dreams, is finding new relevance in the post pandemic commercial real estate world.  The demand for industrial warehouse space is driving rents 40% higher in 2022 than the 2019 pre-pandemic rates.  As a result of the sustained imbalance between … Continue reading Build It and They Will Come

2021:  A Pivotal Year Drew Sigfridson, SIOR, Managing Director Originally featured in our 2022 Greater Portland Market Outlook. What will 2021 be remembered for? COVID-19 and the Delta variant? Masks vs. no masks?  Vaccine or no vaccine? Record fast distribution of vaccines for those who wanted it? The year that the validity of our elections was questioned? The U.S. Capitol stormed? … Continue reading A Message from our Managing Director

Office Market Overview: 2022 The Greater Portland Office Market has remained resilient over the past couple years, as evidenced in our survey last year. We had all hoped for a return to some normalcy in the office market in 2021, but as the pandemic continues, so does the uncertainty of its impact on office space. Here at The Boulos Company, … Continue reading The Office Market Outlook

Maine’s 2022 Capital Markets Outlook: GENERAL TRENDS  In last year’s Market Outlook, we stated that given the savory ingredients of abundant liquidity, low cost of capital, wider yield spreads, and rebounding asset value appreciation, we expected investor appetites to acquire more commercial real estate (CRE) in 2021 to return to the insatiable pre-COVID levels, albeit with some sectors faring better … Continue reading Capital Markets Overview

March 2022 Maine Industrial Market Update: In the first quarter of 2022, Maine’s industrial market has, by and large, played out as most have expected. Out-of-state investment in the industrial market (and in Maine’s CRE markets in general) continues to grow, as lease rates trend closer to double digits in Greater Portland and the Lewiston/Auburn market. Vacancy rates continue to … Continue reading Industrial Market Outlook

Maine’s economy has been unsettled over the past 20 months, much like the rest of the United States. But unlike the rest of the country, Maine, and more specifically, Cumberland and York Counties, have unique challenges and opportunities. Coming economic shifts will impact commercial real estate, as the built environment adapts to changes in how we live, work, and play. … Continue reading Southern Maine CRE Predictions

Augusta Market Update After a bumpy 2020, the second half of 2021 has seen a revived interest in the Augusta office market. In October, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) leased 43,000± SF of Class A office space at 353 Water Street. The transaction marked the largest office lease deal in Central Maine since the onset of … Continue reading Central Maine Commercial Real Estate Market Update: 2022

Hospitality & Tourism in Maine: Maine’s hospitality and tourism market generates an average of $11 billion annually and is one of the state’s largest economic sectors. Portland is at the center of this sector as Maine’s largest city and one of the state’s biggest draws. Last year, I highlighted the pandemic-related challenges faced by Portland’s bustling restaurant industry. Twelve months … Continue reading Industry Spotlight: Hospitality

Developers, owner-users, tenants, and investors are beginning to view Lewiston-Auburn as the next area of the state poised for growth, as evidenced by rising lease rates and record sale prices – and in spite of soaring construction costs. Housing Development Like in many areas throughout Maine, developers have taken notice of the housing shortage in Lewiston-Auburn. Over the past year, … Continue reading Lewiston-Auburn Market Overview

As with the year before, the past 12 months were largely characterized by profound change. The pandemic continued to shine a light on how we spend our time, what we spend it on, and, in many cases, where we spend it. For many seeking a better quality of life during the pandemic, Maine was at the top of the list. … Continue reading Economic Impacts from COVID Transplants

In November 2020, Portland passed a significant new referendum for the city. Colloquially known as the “Green New Deal,” the referendum primarily addressed energy efficiency standards on new construction, but also included a change to the inclusionary zoning (IZ) provision that exacerbated the already-strict affordable housing requirements around new development. It has been a year since that referendum went into … Continue reading Multifamily: The Effects of Portland’s Inclusionary Zoning

These days, when people think of Maine, they often think of Portland. As Maine’s largest city and business hub, Portland is celebrated for its award-winning restaurants and brewery scene, historic Old Port, and working waterfront. So much so, that robust real estate demand over the past decade has left limited development sites on the Portland peninsula. With record-high price points … Continue reading Development Spotlight: Beyond the Peninsula