Sperry Van Ness International Corporation’s (SVNIC) 2015 Market Update Reports assess the current state of the national commercial real estate market, and identify micro-trends within specific geographic regions and industries for 2015. Today we are delving into the 2015 Top Office Markets to Watch. Not the largest or the most actively contested markets, the 2015 Office Markets to Watch are each at an important juncture that presents unique opportunities for investment. Together, they reflect the diversity of trends that is driving the economy and commercial real estate performance in markets across the country.
Top Office Market to Watch: Dallas, TX
Office absorption topped 2 million square feet in Dallas last year, fueled by exceptional office-use job growth, corporations relocating to the Dallas Metroplex, or expanding their operations in this business-friendly locale. Among last year’s notable moves, Toyota North America announced that it would build its $350-million, 1.8-million-square-foot corporate campus in the Legacy West mixed-use complex in West Plano. State Farm is moving into its 2.1-million-square-foot space at the sprawling CityLine campus in Richardson. Other companies, like Omnitracs and Active Network, took space for their corporate headquarters in existing central business district office towers, where the vacancy rate fell below 20% for the first time since before the recession.
Dallas’ Uptown submarket is booming with the first of several new developments pre-leasing in the range of $50 per square foot. Activity in Uptown is expected to radiate out to other submarkets, as some professional services tenants, like law firms and accountants, seek protection from the rapidly increasing rents at their current locations.
Investors should be cautious of the outlook for new supply in Dallas and the surrounding area. While two-thirds of the 6 million square feet of office space under construction in the Metroplex is pre-leased, that still leaves roughly 2 million square feet of new supply entering the competitive inventory. That new supply may slow the pace of effective rent growth and drag on occupancy levels.
To read more on Dallas and other top office markets, download the full version of the 2015 Office Market Update report here.
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