Take A Look At How The Top 10 US Office Metros Performed In Q2

With tech firms snatching up space left and right and the labor market recovering with vigor, office demand remained strong in Q2. The sector recovered from its traditional first-quarter dive to a healthy performance, with average vacancy rates for these core markets at a stable 11.5%. That's 30 basis points lower than it was a year ago, according to a recent Colliers International report.

Strong job growth in June helped boost office demand. The labor market added 287,000 jobs that month, a large leap from the 11,000 jobs added in May.

"The strong job additions can really only help the office market; obviously the more hiring of employees means the more space firms need to occupy. The job market is continuing to be a bright spot in the economy buoying the office market to some degree," Colliers’ National Director of Office Research Michael Roessle (pictured), tells Bisnow. "Particularly in the professional business sector where we have seen markets such as Atlanta and Dallas booming. That sector in particular added 70,000 jobs in June and 550,000 within the last 12 months." 

Michael says the tech-saturated markets continue to perform well, particularly areas like Seattle, where tech titans Amazon and Microsoft set up shop. As tech companies continue to expand, they're heightening competition for space and pushing rents to record highs. 

"On the whole I think we can look forward to continued growth in the second half of the year. Absorption has picked up from a slower first quarter, rental rates continue to increase, vacancies continue to drop as demand grows,” Michael tells us. "The employment picture continues to be strong and we look forward to renewed GDP growth in the second half of the year as well. I think the economic outlook is not gangbusters but is going to be positive and improved from where we have been."

Here's a quick snapshot of how the top 10 office metros fared in Q2—take a look. 

Manhattan/ NYC

Absorption: 136k SF

Average Rent: $72.94/SF

Vacancy Rate: 9.9%

Los Angeles

Absorption: 652k SF

Average Rent: $35.28/SF

Vacancy Rate: 15.7%

Washington, DC

Absorption: 221k SF

Average Rent: $46.06/SF

Vacancy Rate: 13.6%

Chicago

Absorption: 165k SF

Average Rent: $37.25/SF

Vacancy Rate: 11.6%

Atlanta

Absorption: 198k SF

Average Rent: $26.50/SF

Vacancy Rate: 12.7%

San Francisco

Absorption: 352k SF

Average Rent: $74.76/SF

Vacancy Rate: 6.3%

Dallas

Absorption: 889k SF

Average Rent: $29.79/SF

Vacancy Rate: 11.8%

Boston

Absorption: -495k SF

Average Rent: $54.27/SF

Vacancy Rate: 10.3%

Seattle

Absorption: 195k SF

Average Rent: $37.83

Vacancy Rate: 7.8%

Houston

Absorption: 16k SF

Average Rent: $38.54 SF

Vacancy Rate: 15.4%