Steve Adams
Football is a game that’s rooted in real estate: the team that has possession of the ball seeks to move to a better gridiron neighborhood until it gains title to the valuable 1,600 square feet of end zone territory.
So who better to offer some perspective on football and real estate than former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, now executive chairman of JLL America?
A comparison of the real estate markets in this year’s contenders will encourage New England Patriots fans, with Staubach favoring Bill Belichick’s charges in Sunday’s title game.
Boston’s commercial real estate market has been on an extended winning streak, and that’s enabled the region to open up a 42 percent premium in office rents compared with Atlanta since 2010, JLL research indicates. During that period, average asking rents in Greater Boston have increased nearly 27 percent to $34 per square foot. Atlanta rents have risen just 15 percent of the same period.
“The Patriots’ recent run of success mirrors the growth of our regional economy and real estate market,” Jim Tierney, managing director of JLL New England region, said in a statement.
Brokerage CBRE compared multifamily markets trends in Boston and Atlanta and came to a different result.
At first glance, the two markets have a bit in common: similarly-sized at approximately 500,000 units. Boston has the lower vacancy rate and higher values, along with higher 2017 rent growth and 2016 net absorption.
But Atlanta had the edge in other key metrics, such as 2016 rent growth and multifamily acquisitions. Using a formula that takes into account those numbers and others, CBRE predicts a final score of Atlanta 38, New England 27.
