By Russ Wiles | The Republic
The commercial-property market around metro Phoenix held a lot of favorable cards heading into this year.
Job growth was high, people continued to flock to Arizona, interest rates were low and significant warning signs of overbuilding weren’t on the horizon. Then the new coronavirus outbreak hit, and everything shifted overnight.
Since then, commercial real estate, like most facets of the economy, has weakened considerably. Some tenants are struggling, rents are being renegotiated, developers are bringing fewer new projects to market and tenants are rethinking their space needs amid business shutdowns, social distancing, a surge in online retail orders and substantial increases in work-from-home arrangements.
