As Florida’s most densely populated city, Jacksonville represents a thriving, business-friendly metro that’s ripe for commercial real estate investment activity.
Jacksonville is the largest city by area in the lower 48 states and plays host to a sizable CRE property inventory within its limits. Investors and organizations look to Jacksonville as a premier investment area to find and acquire commercial properties. Crexi is proud to connect these property seekers with every tool needed to find the best-suited Jacksonville commercial real estate for their needs.
Jacksonville commercial brokers and agents representing commercial property in Jacksonville rely on Crexi’s robust lead management and software tools to maximize their business and quickly engage with buyers and tenants. Thanks to Crexi’s broker tools suite, Jacksonville brokers can save time, engage with thousands of leads nationwide, and close more deals.
To date, Crexi’s commercial real estate tools have helped brokers close more than $330 billion in asset value and market more than $2 trillion in investments.
Crexi proudly serves Jacksonville, Orange Park, Jacksonville Beach, Callahan, and Duval County’s entirety as the region’s fastest-growing digital CRE platform.
The State of Jacksonville Commercial Real Estate
Jacksonville, Florida, is a beautiful coastal city with a population of over 1.7 million people. The city sits near the mouth of the St. Johns River on the Atlantic Coast, and its downtown area is located on a peninsula that juts out into the river. Jacksonville is the largest city in Florida by land area and the 12th largest city in the United States.
Jacksonville is a popular tourist destination due to its warm climate, beautiful beaches, and abundant recreational activities. Jacksonville is also home to many businesses and cultural attractions, including the Museum of Science and History, the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens, and the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.
Jacksonville’s population has been growing rapidly in recent years, due to an influx of new residents from other parts of Florida and the United States. The city’s population is expected to continue to grow in the coming years as more people move to Jacksonville for its sunny weather, affordable housing, and strong economy.
The growing population is driving demand for new homes and businesses in Jacksonville, fueling the city’s strong commercial real estate market.
Jacksonville Regional Breakdown
All major counties in the Jacksonville metro area – Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns – have witnessed a net increase in population growth over the past two years. Duval County, where Jacksonville is the county seat, saw its population grow by nearly 4.5% over the past 24 months, with no signs of slowing down:
- Jacksonville is home to nearly 950,000 in the city and over 1.7 million in the metropolitan area.
- Over the past year, the city of Jacksonville has grown by 0.5%.
- Jacksonville is the most populous city in the Southeastern U.S. and the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Florida.
- Population of the metropolitan area is projected to double in size over the next 25 years, with more than 800,000 people relocating to the area by 2030.
- Median age in Jacksonville is 38.6 years, with 40% of the residents between the ages of 20 and 49.
- Poverty rate in Jacksonville is about 90% of the rate in Florida, and a little less than that in the larger U.S.
- Per capita income in Jacksonville is $34,228 while median household income is $63,064.
Jacksonville Job Market
A pro-growth government, low cost of living and doing business, and amazing year-round weather are just three of the many reasons why the Jacksonville job market continues to thrive. Over the past year, more than 47,500 jobs have been created in the metropolitan area, driving unemployment down to just 2.3%:
- GDP of Jacksonville is over $91 billion and has grown by 55% over the past 10 years.
- Jacksonville boasts an unemployment rate of 2.3%, lower than before the pandemic began.
- Industry sectors in Jacksonville reporting the most solid growth include leisure and hospitality, construction, trade and transportation, information, and professional and business services.
- The region has a long history of banking and financial services. It’s home to institutions such as Fidelity National Financial, the Jacksonville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Deutsche Bank, and EverBank.
- Jacksonville is home to one of the largest manufacturing regions in the state, while the IT industry comprises sectors including e-commerce, finance technology, and logistics.
- Major employers in the Jacksonville metro area include GATE Petroleum, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Johnson & Johnson Vision Care.
- The military also has a significant impact on Jacksonville’s economy. The region is home to numerous facilities including Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, and the Marine Corps’ Blount Island Command.
- Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Jacksonville University, University of Florida, and University of North Florida are four of the major universities and colleges in the metropolitan area.
- Over 90% of the residents of Jacksonville are high school graduates or higher, while more than 32% hold a bachelor’s degree or an advanced degree.
Transportation networks in the Jacksonville metro area include four seaports, three interstate highways, countless trucking firms, freight rail service, and Jacksonville International Airport.
Jacksonville Industrial Market
About 1.4 million square feet of new industrial leases were signed in Jacksonville in Q1 2022 alone, with low inventory and high demand causing rents to rise by over 17% year-over-year. Jacksonville is a major distribution hub for the region, with the Westside and Northside submarkets accounting for over 95% of total new lease transactions:
- Total industrial inventory: 101,855,115 SF
- Average overall weighted asking rent: $6.42/SF per year, NNN
- Vacancy rate: 4.0%
- Absorption: 184,330 SF in Q1 2022
- Key lease transactions by tenant: Crown Products 469,830 SF, Shoreside Logistics 236,880 SF, Henry Schein 198,408 SF
- New construction: 554,277 SF in new completions, with 3,667,162 SF under construction
- Investment sales trends: $258 million in Q1 2022, median sales price $91/SF, market cap rate 6.5%
- Largest industrial submarkets: Westside, Northside, Southside
Discover Jacksonville industrial space for rent.
Jacksonville Office Market
The suburban office markets in Jacksonville continue to shine, accounting for nearly 86% of all office leases signed year-to-date. According to Cushman & Wakefield, leasing activity in Jacksonville is focused on Class B office space, with overall asking rents setting record levels:
- Total office inventory: 21,765,785 SF
- Average asking rents: $22.64/SF per year, full service gross
- Vacancy rate: 21.3%
- Absorption: -107,122 through Q2 2022
- Leasing activity (YTD): 826,872 SF
- Key leases by tenant: Solera 42,481 SF, Allegis Group 42,286 SF
- New construction: 0 SF currently under construction
- Investment sales trends: $84 million in acquisitions in Q1 2022, sales price $161/SF, market cap rate 7.8%
- Largest office submarkets: Deerwood Park, Baymeadows, Southpoint, Northbank
Discover Jacksonville office space for lease.
Jacksonville Retail Market
The retail market in Jacksonville is thriving, according to the most recent report from Colliers (Q2 2022). Rents are rapidly rising, vacancy is at an all-time low, and the growing demand for retail property in Jacksonville is creating a seller’s market:
- Total retail inventory: 99,003,622 SF
- Average asking rent: $16.21/SF per year, NNN
- Vacancy rate: 3.8%
- Absorption: 483,579 (Q2 2022)
- Key leases by tenant: Winn Dixie 48,243 SF, Sportsman’s Warehouse 38,000 SF
- New construction: 316,397 SF in new completions, with 1,059,922 SF currently under construction
- Investment sales trends: $161 million in Q1 2022, transaction sales price $227/SF, market cap rate 6.9%
- Median household income: $63,064 with 61% of households earning more than $50K per year
Discover Jacksonville retail property for lease.
Jacksonville Multifamily Market
Significant population growth combined with a rebounding economy are fueling the demand for multifamily property in Jacksonville. Even though apartment rents have soared nearly 23% over the past year, rents are still significantly below the national average. The lower cost of living in Northern Florida making Jacksonville an attractive area to live, work, and invest:
- Total housing units: 656,551
- Renter occupied: 35%
- Multifamily inventory: 157,572 units
- Effective rent per unit: $1,421
- Rent growth: 14.6% year-over-year
- Vacancy rate: 22.8%
- Investment sales trends: $322 million in Q1 2022, median sales price per unit $146,094, 4.8% average cap rate
- Median household income: $63,064
- Per capita income: $34,228
Discover Jacksonville multifamily property for sale.
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