North Phoenix Full of Empty Office Buildings

For decades the Deer Valley Airpark area has been one of the fastest growing regions of commercial real estate in North Phoenix, but these days it's looking more and more like a ghost town.

If you were to drive the two-mile stretch of road between Deer Valley Road and Happy Valley Road like I did today, you would see a startling number of For Rent signs in a sea of mirrored glass buildings. So why are there so many empty office buildings in North Phoenix?

Well for one reason, there is an abundance of cheap, undeveloped land here at the edge of town. For the past several years, property development groups have been snapping up land and constructing entire neighborhoods of one and two-story offices. There are now too many buildings for too few occupants.

Thanks to the downturned economy, these property development groups are now starving for new tenants. When a building is unoccupied, its owners are still responsible for property taxes, insurance, and utilities. Real estate webites like craigslist and LoopNet are flooded with listings for office space in North Phoenix.

My best guess is that the market forecasts made during the real estate boom of the past few years were WAY off. The demand for commercial real estate was grossly miscalculated. Either that, or these development groups simply did not study the area at all before diving in to the construction of a new investment property.

Whatever the case, there is an abundance of commercial property for lease, for rent, and for sale in North Phoenix. Everything from build-to-suit to move-in ready is available, including single executive offices to large warehouses and even retail storefronts.

If you are shopping around for commercial office space, you have your pick of the best locations and the lowest rates here in North Phoenix.