The Office Bubble Is Bursting In America’s Largest Oil Town

America’s biggest oil town is once again filling with “see-through buildings” as energy companies continue their free-fall.

Houston energy companies have been stockpiling office space for years, optimistically believing their good fortune would never end and one day they’d need the space. But since oil's price free-fall, major energy companies are losing billions a quarter and are laying off tons of workers—ConocoPhillips announced last fall it will lay off 10% of its total workforce, Wolf Street reports.

Now these stockpiled office buildings are unnecessary—ConocoPhillips just put an entire 597k SF building on the sublease market. And they aren’t alone, sublease space shot up 19% in Q1 and it has exploded 124% since Q3 2014 as other major energy companies like Shell, Apache and others desperately try to unload real estate. [WolfStreet]

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's National Newsletters
Related Stories

TPG, ACORE Raise Billions For Opportunistic CRE Funds

Newmark Cuts Earnings Outlook Despite Record Third Quarter

Battered Mortgage REIT Suspends Dividend To Preserve Cash

From Pandemic Darling To Cautionary Tale: Pickleball Clubs Face A Reckoning After Betting Big On Retail Space

Morningstar Releases New Details On Over 350K SF In Q3 Office Leases

Weil Gotshal Wind-Down Leaves 830K SF Hole In America's Office Market

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Reports Unexpected Q3 Net Loss

'Distress Is Finally Trading': Investors Chasing Big Discounts On Boston Office

Tyko Capital Sets New Record For Florida's Largest Construction Loan

Office Recovery Moving Faster Than Expected, CoStar Finds

How Microsoft, Coca-Cola And Amazon Are Adapting Their Offices For AI Age

Hof Wonen Acquires 251 Social Rental Houses In New Mixed-Use Project In The Hague