Uncertainty caused by COVID-19 will test resiliency of Detroit market fundamentals
The rapid arrival of COVID-19 in March injected major disruption to everyday life and introduced considerable uncertainty into the Detroit office market. Governor Whitmer introduced some of the country’s most stringent restrictions on non-essential businesses, ordered residents to remain at home through the end of April, and closed schools for the remainder of the academic year. As economists point to a looming recession in the U.S., it is likely that some degree of rental rate compression will be seen throughout the Detroit market. Occupiers able to weather the storm may benefit from an economic interruption via rental rate relief, an increase in available options across the market, and increasingly generous landlord concessions.