Downtown is primarily a multi-floor tenant market, with companies drawn to the large, contiguous floor plates historically found in the high-rise offices. But historic is the key word there, says Colliers director of research Lisa Bridges. Right now, Class-A and -B occupancy average almost 90%, and there are only two blocks larger than 100k SF available for lease. (Here, Lisa’s at the Colliers International 2014 research and marketing conference at Salt Lick in Austin, which showed off the best of Texas to the rest of the country, including armadillo races and this sweetheart of a donkey, Bonita.)
Lisa says that lack of space has driven developers to announce new projects and is pushing rents. After inching up 1% annually for several years, they’ve risen about 6% since 2013. (That’s partially thanks to higher operating expenses, but demand outweighing supply is definitely a factor.) Our supply woes may start easing soon—two more large blocks over 100k SF are opening up near-term, four or five more will come available next year and beyond, and several new office towers are coming out of the ground as quickly as they can.
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