Nearly 20M SF Of Spec Lab Construction Is Available As Demand Is Set To Drop Life sciences real estate has been growing so fast that experts have often described it as akin to a car speeding down the highway. But as markets digest a cascade of bad news, from a pullback in venture capital investment to concerns over stagflation and fears of a recession, speed bumps are starting to emerge for lab developers. Of the 29.1M SF of lab space expected to be under construction in the next two years, 26.2M SF is being built speculatively, according to CBRE. Just 26% of that space is pre-leased, showing how aggressively developers have built for an industry that has long been considered a risky bet. While analysts and experts in the life sciences don't expect a crash landing — too much money has been raised by companies that need lab space — the mood in the industry has darkened in the last six months as valuations of biotech companies have fallen. 
“Is this going to affect spec construction? Yes, and it’s going to make demand for certain projects less robust,” CBRE Senior Director of Research Ian Anderson said. “It’ll be a pullback, but not significant.”Biotech startups will slow their burn rates, funding levels will be more measured, and spec construction will…  Read the full story here. | 
