Industrial and multifamily are often considered the darling asset classes of commercial real estate. But don’t forget about the life sciences sector. As recent research from JLL shows, demand for life sciences space continues to soar across the United States.
JLL reported that users have absorbed 34.9 million square feet of life sciences space in buildings that have come online in the last year years. These users are seeking high-quality lab space, and the demand for this type of space is showing few signs of lessening.
According to JLL, tenants today are seeking purpose-built, amenity-rich life sciences space in the best locations. It’s a bit like the flight-to-quality brokers are seeing today in the overall office market. JLL reports that tenants are willing to pay a premium for this space.
Last year was an especially busy one for the life sciences field. JLL reported that tenants absorbed 17.5 million square feet of life sciences lab space in 2022. That followed a 2021 in which tenants absorbed 9.2 million square feet and a 2020 in which they took 8.1 million square feet.
