Analytics definitions
Analytic Charts
Vacancy Rate
A measurement expressed as a percentage of the
total amount of physically vacant space divided
by the total amount of existing inventory. Vacant
space is defined as space that is not currently
occupied by a tenant, regardless of any lease
obligation that may be on the space. Vacant
space could be space that is either available or
not available. For example, sublease space that
is currently being paid for by a tenant but not
occupied by that tenant, would be considered
vacant space. Likewise, space that has been
leased but will not be occupied until some date in
the future would also be considered vacant space.
Vacant space is also only counted in existing or
already built buildings. Under construction or
proposed space is excluded from the vacancy
calculation.
Sublease Vacancy Rate
A measurement expressed as a percentage of the
total amount of physically vacant space being
offered as a sublease divided by the total amount
of existing inventory. Sublease space is defined
as space that has been leased by a tenant and is
being offered for lease back to the market by the
tenant with the lease obligation. Sublease space is
sometimes referred to as sublet space.
Availability Rate
A measurement expressed as a percentage of
the total amount of available space divided by
the total amount of existing inventory. Available
space is defined as the total amount of space
that is currently being marketed as available for
lease in a given time period. It includes any space
that is available, regardless of whether the space
is vacant, occupied, available for sublease, or
available at a future date, although it excludes
space available in proposed buildings.
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Availability & Vacancy Rate
See definitions for availability rate and vacancy
rate.
Occupancy Rate
A measurement expressed as a percentage of
the total amount of occupied space divided by
the total amount of existing inventory. Occupied
space is defined as space that is physically
occupied by a tenant. It does not include leased
space that is not currently occupied by a tenant.
Percent Leased Rate
A measurement expressed as a percentage of
the total amount of leased space divided by the
total amount of existing inventory. Leased space
is defined as space that has a financial lease
obligation. It includes all leased space, regardless
of whether the space is currently occupied by a
tenant. Leased space also includes space being
offered for sublease.
Occupancy & Percent Leased
See the definitions of occupancy rate and percent
leased rate.
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Vacant SF
Vacant space is defined as space that is not
currently occupied by a tenant, regardless of any
lease obligation that may be on the space. Vacant
space could be space that is either available or
not available. For example, sublease space that
is currently being paid for by a tenant but not
occupied by that tenant, would be considered
vacant space. Likewise, space that has been
leased but will not be occupied until some date in
the future would also be considered vacant space.
Vacant space is also only counted in existing or
already built buildings. Under construction or
proposed space is excluded from the vacancy
calculation.
Available SF
Available space is defined as the total amount of
space that is currently being marketed as available
for lease in a given time period. It includes any
space that is available, regardless of whether the
space is vacant, occupied, available for sublease,
or available at a future date, although it excludes
space available in proposed buildings.
Months on Market Distribution
This chart applies only to spaces that are currently
available for lease. Months on market for available
space is defined as the time period between
when a space for lease began being marketed
as available for lease (date on market) until the
current date. Note that because the spaces are
still available, the months on market will continue
to go up for these properties. The x-axis in this
chart displays different increments of time in
months. Each increment is a cumulative measure
of everything from the previous increment to that
increment.
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Net Absorption
Net absorption is defined as the net change
in occupied space over a given period of time,
calculated by summing all the positive changes
in occupancy (move ins) and subtracting all the
negative changes in occupancy (move outs).
Net Absorption as % of inventory
A measurement expressed as a percentage of the
total amount of net absorption divided by the
total amount of existing inventory. Net absorption
is defined as the net change in occupied space
over a given period of time, calculated by
summing all the positive changes in occupancy
(move ins) and subtracting all the negative
changes in occupancy (move outs).
Leasing Activity
Leasing activity is defined as the square footage
that is committed to and signed under a lease
obligation in a given period of time. It includes
direct leases, subleases and renewals of existing
leases. It also includes any pre-leasing activity in
under construction, planned buildings or under
renovation buildings.
Months on Market
Months on market is defined as the number of
months between the date a space for lease began
being marketed as available for lease (date on
market) until the date the space is committed to
by a tenant (sign date). Months on market data
is based on spaces that are available for lease at
that point in time, which means they could be on
the market for a longer period of time before they
are actually leased.
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Months to Lease
Months to lease is defined as the number of
months between the date a space for lease began
being marketed as available for lease (date on
market) until the date the space is committed
to by a tenant (sign date). Months to lease data
is based on any lease transactions that were
completed during that time period.
Months Vacant
Months vacant is defined as the number of
months between the date a space for lease is
moved out of and the date a new tenant moves
into the space. The space is still considered vacant
after a new lease has been signed while the space
is being built out for the new tenant until the new
tenant physically moves in. Months vacant data
is based on any move ins that were completed
during that time period.
Probability of Leasing in Months
The probability of leasing data uses completed
leases in properties in the results set and looks at
how long those leases were on the market, from
the date the space began being marketed (date
on market), to the date the space was committed
to by a tenant (sign date). There is no time period
associated with the data, all leases throughout all
time are included. The x-axis represents different
increments of how long spaces were on the
market and the y-axis represents the cumulative
percentage of spaces that were leased through
that time on market period.
Construction Starts
Construction starts is defined as the square
footage of buildings that began the construction
process during a specific period of time. For a
building to be considered a start, the foundation
work for the building must have begun. Grading
or clearing raw land would not constitute a
construction start.
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Construction Deliveries
Construction deliveries is defined as the square
footage of buildings that completed construction
during a specified period of time. In order for
space to be considered delivered, a completion
certificate must have been issued for the property.
Under Construction
Under construction is defined as the square
footage of buildings that are in the process of
being developed, assembled, built or constructed.
A building is considered to be under construction
from the date the foundation work for the building
was begun until the building receives a completion
certificate.
Asking Rental Rate Per SF
Asking rental rates are defined as the annual
costs of occupancy for a particular space that is
available for lease that is being asked for by the
owner of the building, quoted on a per square
foot basis. Asking rental rates may differ from the
actual (achieved) rates paid by tenants following
the negotiation of all terms and conditions in a
specific lease. Asking rental rates do not include
service charges or building rates.
The calculation of rental rates is done on a
weighted average basis. The weighting is based
on the size of the space that is available. This
has the effect of causing rental rates on larger
spaces to affect the average more than that of
smaller spaces. The weighted average rental rate
is calculated by taking the ratio of the square
footage associated with each rental rate to the
square footage associated with all rental rates,
multiplying the rental rate by that ratio, and then
adding together all the resulting numbers.
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Direct & Sublet Rental Rates
Direct space is defined as space that is being
offered for lease directly from the landlord or
owner of a building, as opposed to space being
offered in a building by another tenant (or agent
of a tenant) trying to sublet a space that has
already been leased. Sublet space is defined as
space that has been leased by a tenant and is
being offered for lease back to the market by
the tenant with the lease obligation. Both direct
& sublet rental rates are asking rental rates (see
definition of asking rental rates).
Top Buyers
A ranking of the individuals, groups, companies,
or entities that have purchased a commercial real
estate asset within the past year. The order of the
ranking is by the total currency that has changed
hands.
Top Sellers
A ranking of the individuals, groups, companies,
or entities that have sold a commercial real
estate asset within the past year. The order of the
ranking is by the total currency that has changed
hands.
Sales Volume by Buyer Type
A categorisation of the commercial real estate
assets that have sold within the past year by the
type of company that bought that real estate.
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Sales Volume by Seller Type
A categorisation of the commercial real estate
assets that have sold within the past year by the
type of company that sold that real estate.
Top Buyer Companies
A ranking of the real estate agents that
represented buyers of commercial real estate over
the past year.
Top Seller Companies
A ranking of the real estate agents that
represented sellers of commercial real estate over
the past year.
For Sale Total Listings
For sale listings is the count of properties that are
being marketed as for sale in the CoStar database.
These properties could be an entire building, part
of a building (a condominium unit), or part of
a group of properties in a portfolio. Note that
these are only properties that are being publically
marketed in CoStar. Some properties are privately
marketed to a select group of investors and would
not be counted in this chart.
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For Sale Total SF
For sale total SF is the square footage of properties
that are being marketed as for sale in the CoStar
database. These properties could be an entire
building, part of a building (a condominium unit),
or part of a group of properties in a portfolio.
Note that these are only properties that are being
publically marketed in CoStar. Some properties
are privately marketed to a select group of
investors and would not be counted in this chart.
Asking Price Per SF
Asking price per SF is measurement of the price
of properties that are being marketed as for sale
in the CoStar database divided by the square
footage of those properties. These for sale
properties could be an entire building, part of a
building (a condominium unit), or part of a group
of properties in a portfolio. Note that these are
only properties that are being publically marketed
in CoStar. Some properties are privately marketed
to a select group of investors and would not be
counted in this chart.
Sales Volume
Sales volume is a measure of the total volume,
measured in currency, of the properties that were
sold in a given time period.
Sales Vol by Star Rating
A measure of the total volume, measured in
currency, of the properties sold in a given time
period that had a rating equal to the rating of
that particular group.
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Average Sales Price Per SF
A measurement of the prices of buildings sold in
that particular time period divided by the square
footage of buildings sold in that time period.
Sale to Asking Price Differential
A measurement of the ratio of the asking price
of a property before it sells to the actual price of
the property after it sells. In order to be included
in this measure, a property must have both an
asking price and a sales price. Sales that occurred
that have no asking price are excluded.
Yield
The yield in this chart is the net initial yield, a
calculation that reflects the relationship between
one year’s net rental income and the price of the
property at the sale. It is calculated by dividing
the annual net rental income by the sales price
(including purchaser costs).
Yield by Star Rating
A measurement of the yield (see definition of
yield) of properties sold in that particular time
period that have a star rating equal to the star
rating of that particular group. See separate
document for definitions of star ratings.
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Occupancy & Rental Rates
The occupancy rate and the asking rental rate for
this particular group of properties. See definitions
for occupancy rate and asking rental rate.
Absorption, Deliveries, Vacancy
The net absorption, construction deliveries and
vacancy rates of this particular set of properties.
See definitions of net absorption, construction
deliveries and vacancy rate.
Analytic Quick Stats Table
Current
For the entries that do not include “12 Mo.” in
their title, the data is as of today. For the entries
with “12 Mo.” in their title, the data includes the
four most recent completed quarters. If today’s
date is less than halfway through the current
quarter the calculation includes the current
quarter plus the previous four quarters. If today’s
date is over halfway through the current quarter,
the calculation includes the current quarter plus
the previous three quarters.
Past Year
Calculated using data from today’s date going
back 365 days.
5-Year Avg
Calculated using the previous 20 completed
quarters, not including the current quarter.
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Other Definitions
Existing Inventory
The square footage of buildings that have received a
completion certificate and are able to be occupied
by tenants. It does not include space in buildings
that are either planned, under construction or under
renovation.
Tenant Rep
Tenant Rep stands for Tenant Representative. In a
typical lease transaction between an owner/landlord
and tenant, the agent that represents the interests of
the tenant is referred to as a Tenant Rep.
Landlord Rep
Net Internal Area
Landlord Rep stands for Landlord Representative.
In a typical lease transaction between an owner/
landlord and tenant, the agent that represents the
interests of the owner/landlord is referred to as the
Landlord Rep.
The total usable square footage within a building that
can be occupied by or assigned to a tenant for the
purpose of determining a tenant’s rental obligation.
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