By Cameron Williams, Director of Research, SVN International Corp.
Continued uneasiness surrounding demand as well as record setting vacancies have created a downturn in new office development in the beginning of 2023. Despite this, several markets are continuing to build.
With much of the space pre-leased, tenants are still signaling the demand for high quality property outside of central business districts. Life science lab space and class A suburban property are driving new construction in the following markets:
San Francisco remains one of the hottest office markets in North America, led by booms in the tech industry that are seeking urban locations over sprawling campus sites. As such, the Bay Area has some of the highest rents and lowest vacancies and this trend is not forecast to reverse anytime soon. The overall economy is very healthy for the size of this metro, with unemployment at 3.9% as of January ‘16, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Office-using sectors are some of the fastest growing, with Professional and Business Services, Information, and Financial Activities growing at 5.4%, 4.8%, and 1.3% annualized rates, respectively. Affordability of office space, as well as overall cost of living and operating, are the biggest impediments to sustained growth; thus, expect the suburbs to grow and urbanize at increasing rates as well.
SVNIC’s 2016 
Minneapolis remains one of the strongest and most stable economies in the nation with 3.9% unemployment in January ‘16, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The metro area has steadily gained total employment while only experiencing a modest decline during the past recession. The key office-using sectors are fairly stable with modest growth as Financial Activities and Professional and Business Services gain jobs at 1.6% and 0.9% annualized rates, respectively, while Information remains mostly flat at –0.3%. Given that Minneapolis is repeatedly cited as a good place to do business, its office market is likely to maintain stability and grow in 2016 and beyond. Further, Minneapolis is experiencing a long-term trend of re-urbanization, meaning that the CBD is likely to perform well for the extended horizon.
Houston is the hub of oil and energy production in the United States and, as such, is uniquely susceptible to the recent oil price declines that appear to have near-term persistence. It is likely that the office market in Houston will experience some pain in 2016 and beyond on a relative basis. Declines are already being felt in key office sectors with Information and Professional and Business Services declining at -2.5% and -1.8% annualized rates, respectively; however, Financial Activities is growing at 2.0% and thus should balance some of the negative effects. Overall, the Houston economy is actually fairly healthy with a 4.8% unemployment rate as of January ‘16 which has stayed near constant for much of 2015; thus, fears of the oil price declines may be overblown.
Ft. Lauderdale has experienced significant recovery from the recession but still remains below pre-recession peaks in both total employment and lows in the unemployment rate. Still, the economy is quite healthy with a 4.7% unemployment measure as of January ‘16, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As part of a multi-metro region, Ft. Lauderdale offers relatively lower office rents and higher occupancies, as well as an overall lower regional cost of living (especially compared to Miami) and thus is a rational place to grow and expand a business. Key office sectors are displaying strength with Financial Activities, Professional and Business Services, and Information all markedly positive with annualized growth rates of 4.5%, 4.3%, and 2.1%, respectively. The office market of Ft. Lauderdale should perform well in 2016.
Denver remains one of the most rock-solid metropolitan economies in the nation with 3.0% unemployment in January ‘16, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while maintaining steady, slow growth that has total employment at record highs. The office market is equally steady with a relatively low level of vacancy and fair asking rents. This stability and growth should persist in 2016 for the office sector as key employment groups – Financial Activities, Professional and Business Services, and Information – are all showing strong-to-decent annualized growth of 3.9%, 3.2%, and 1.8%, respectively. Denver maintains a diversified set of economic base activities including aerospace, bioscience, and energy, just to name a few. As such, the office market is likely to withstand any negative impacts of global uncertainty and oil price declines for the foreseeable future.
Dallas remains one of the fastest growing employment centers in the nation, even with the energy price declines of 2015. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate sits near record lows at 3.8% as of January ‘16, with the city creating over a half million new jobs since the recession. The office markets have fared well, as key office sectors of Financial Activities and Professional and Business Services have grown at strong annualized rates of 4.8% and 2.3%, respectively. Information has remained fairly flat at 0.4% annualized growth. As Dallas has become a modern international city with the help of the DFW airport, it is perhaps the best positioned market in the oil-producing region of the U.S. to weather any pain from the petroleum industry. The office market should remain stable and growing in 2016 and beyond.
Cincinnati’s economy is still struggling to find a consistent growth trend as unemployment started the new year at 5.2%, up from 3.9% in August of ‘15, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Positive signs for the office market can be seen in Financial Activities and Information, which are growing at annualized rates of 3.6% and 2.2%, respectively; however the key office-using sector of Professional and Business Services is losing ground with –1.6% growth. Overall, the run of consolidations in industries such as banking, legal firms, etc. has still left Cincinnati with relatively high vacancies and lower lease rates. As the national economy grows, these relative pricing advantages should position Cincinnati to gain new tenants and users looking to locate in the region.
Atlanta has experienced strong gains in total employment and is setting record highs as of January ‘16, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with unemployment at 5.2% and new job creation at an annualized rate of 3.5%. This includes growth in key office-using sectors including Professional and Business Services, Financial Activities, and Education and Health Services, which grew at annualized rates 5.0%, 2.0%, and 1.8%, respectively. In addition, Construction employment is growing at a 7.4% annualized rate, indicating further overall economic growth is projected to occur in Atlanta in 2016 and beyond. According to Georgia Trend, many high impact industries are likely to accelerate growth in Atlanta including life sciences and technology. These forces should cause rising rental rates and falling vacancies in the metro region, with downtown/midtown potentially poised to gain in the overall trend of urbanization affecting cities such as Atlanta.