January 5, 2017: According to a report by real estate research firm Reis Inc., US office vacancy rate declined in the fourth quarter to the lowest level since the second quarter of 2009.
The national vacancy rate, which stood at 15.9% in the previous quarter, has now fallen to 15.4%
Asking rent grew by 0.3 percent while effective rent rose by 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter, according to the report.
In the third quarter, asking rent for the sector grew by 0.3 percent while effective rent rose by 0.4 percent.
In the second quarter, asking and effective rent had risen 0.6 percent.
Construction activity rose from the third quarter, with 8.53 million square feet of new office construction completed.
The recent employment growth should pull the vacancy rate down further in 2017 while rent growth should accelerate back towards a 3 percent annual growth rate, the firm stated.