Apr 2019
Key takeaways of the report include:
- Nearly 170 million square feet of office space was under construction in February, representing 2.9% of existing inventory.
- Inventory growth is generally concentrated in coastal markets such as New York City and San Francisco, as well as in rapidly growing metros such as Austin, Nashville and Charlotte.
- Projects in the development pipeline will add another 6.7% to inventory.
- Nationwide, asking rents averaged $36.23 per square foot in January, up 0.45% over three months. Manhattan ($74.33), San Francisco ($58.75) and Brooklyn ($47.86) have the highest asking rents.
- The national vacancy rate increased to 14.1%, up 10 basis points from December.
- Office-using employment, which drives demand for office space, outpaced overall job gains as the current cycle nears the 10-year mark. Office-using employment nationwide grew more than 2% year-over-year in December.
- Transaction activity has remained steady, with interest rates remaining low and ample capital available for investment. Monthly sales volume over the past three months averaged about $7 billion.
- Sales transactions were almost evenly split between CBDs and suburban areas over the past three months.
