Nelson Mills, president and CEO of Columbia Property Trust (NYSE: CXP), participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITweek: 2018 Investor Conference in New York.
Mills discussed the submarkets that Columbia Property Trust focuses on within its core markets of New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. In New York, the company focuses on the midtown south market, where Mills says the target tenant profile is on TAMI, or those working in the technology, advertising, and media industries. In Washington, the focus is on the East End of the district, and in San Francisco, it’s on the south of Market Street as well as in the north’s financial district.
Mills stresses that each market has similar drivers: “These are markets that attract the millennial employee base, which is much of the driver today for office leasing,” he said.
Regarding lease renewal trends, Mills said it varies greatly by market. While Washington continues to be a bit soft despite strong demand, San Francisco is “stronger than ever.” Manhattan lands somewhere in between the two, he said.
Mills stressed that all three markets continue to be very liquid, with capital demand from all over the world—both private capital, institutional capital, foreign and domestic. “So even in D.C., for example, where rental fundamentals are softer, we still see very competitive pricing there.”