An office ‘flight to quality’ — or a gradual shift?

Plus: CLT buys more land south of the airfield; Office building sale price exceeds tax value; Readers offer real estate forecasts; Arboretum rezoning and more!

Today’s Real Estate Whispers is sponsored by The McIntosh Law Firm. At The McIntosh Law Firm, we offer experienced legal guidance in real estate development, property revaluation appeals, government relations, land use, estate planning, and business law—helping clients navigate complex legal and regulatory challenges.

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It’s time to indulge in the latest irresistible edition of Charlotte Commercial Real Estate Whispers, where the city’s most tantalizing land deals, rezonings and developments are seductively unwrapped. Prepare to be captivated by the pulse-racing drama of Charlotte’s real estate world, where every transaction whispers temptation and every revelation feels like a delicious encounter you can’t resist.

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In today’s edition:

1. Newly released data suggests that newer Charlotte office buildings have higher vacancy rates than most older office buildings. Is there still a “flight to quality”?

2. Charlotte airport continues to gobble up land south of the airfield toward Steele Creek, part of plans for a warehousing and logistics hub

3. A Ballantyne office building sold last week for — wait for it — more than its tax value!

4. Whispers readers weigh in on what local commercial real estate will look like at the end of 2025 and into 2026. Optimism? Pessimism? More of the same?

5. A round-up of key land deals in Graham Street corridor, Arrowood Road and Tyvola … rezonings at the Arboretum and near the airport … and more!

Let’s get to it!

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Contrary to what you might have heard, older offices have lower vacancy rates than the newest ones, data indicates

For the last few years, as construction of new offices in Charlotte has ground to a halt, a lot of folks in the office side of commercial real estate have found solace in the idea that it’s a story of two office markets.

There are the older office buildings — hard to rent, with high vacancy rates. And then there are the newer ones, tricked out with amenities, for which there is strong demand, the idea goes.

The shorthand you sometimes hear is “flight to quality” — that forward-thinking employers are actively rushing to fill those new office buildings that have beer taps, latte bars and Instagram walls because the modern workforce (Gen Z/millennials) expects those amenities. This narrative explains away Charlotte’s lingering overall office vacancy rate of 20+% by saying the problem really lies with offices built when Michael Jackson topped the pop charts.

Recently, there have been insinuations that unless Charlotte starts building office towers soon, there’s going to be a supply crunch in a few years that will cause rental rates to spike and inhibit companies from moving here.

That’s a powerful story — but is it true?

New data out this month seems to us to throw cold water on that “flight to quality” interpretation and suggests that the alleged stampede to modern office environments is really more like a casual walk.