Colliers: Top US CBDs See Growth Despite Economic Slowdown
Unlike the retail sector, the office market had a solid Q3 and will continue to grow despite uneven economic growth, Colliers International Group says in its latest report.
"We anticipate positive momentum in Q4, particularly with the renewed strength in job growth creating added demand in the office sector," President of National Office Services at Colliers Cynthia Foster says.
With gains of 6.8%, Class-A asking rents continue to rise, with San Francisco, in particular, showing strong headway.
Overall, US office is in high demand, fueled in large part by a "vigorous" appetite from foreign investors. "Only 20% of metro areas are seeing rising vacancies," Foster says.
Expect more opportunities to be found in secondary markets as Asian investors continue to seek safe refuge for their money, the report says.
In Q3, the general economy was temporarily dampened by firms cutting back on production and the strengthened dollar reducing exports. But early signs suggest the economy will strengthen in 2016.
National office absorption totaled 26.2M SF in Q3, a 3.1M SF gain over Q2. Colliers anticipates further declines in vacancy and an uptick in asking rents in the near future.
