Are Cooling SD Medical Rents the Start of a Trend?

Ives: “I’m not predicting a turn in medical rents, but the recent quarter was the first in many quarters where we did not see an increase in the average asking rate countywide.”

SAN DIEGO—Supply and demand are still heavily weighted in the landlord’s favor and there’s very little speculative construction in the pipeline, so the decreasing medical-office rents the San Diego market saw in Q3 are likely just a temporary stall, Travis Ives, senior director of the healthcare practice group at Cushman & Wakefield, tells GlobeSt.com.

According to a recent report from the firm, the average asking rent countywide did not change from last quarter, following seven consecutive quarters of increases prior. While this will come as a welcome change to medical practices, many of whom are finding it increasingly difficult to manage increasing expenses in the face of shrinking insurance reimbursements, should medical-office owners and investors be concerned?