Caitlin Burke, Senior Associate It is no secret that new construction in today’s market is more costly than it has been in recent memory. According to a report released in February 2022 from the US Census Bureau, construction costs went up by 17.5% from 2020 to 2021. It reported that it is the largest spike in this data from year … Continue reading Construction Costs and the Impact on the Commercial Real Estate Market

Downtown Portland Class-A Office Update By Samantha Marinko, Associate In January of each year, we publish a report which provides an overview of the commercial real estate market in Maine. We highlight significant projects and trends and conduct a comprehensive analysis of the vacancy rates of office buildings, with a particular focus on the 25 Class A office buildings in … Continue reading Downtown Portland Class A Office 2022 Mid-Year Update

Nate Stevens, Partner, Broker When discussing the current and future status of the commercial real estate market, no topic is more heavily debated and difficult to predict than the office market.  With the pandemic-driven rise of working-from-home and subsequent implementation of hybrid work models, it could be months or years before we understand the full effect of this trend on … Continue reading Office Conversion Projects And A Plan to Make Them Affordable

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