Office: Slow Improvement in '12;Same for 2013

PHOENIX-As the United States, as a whole, moves away from the financial crash of 2007-2009, certain geographic regions – and sectors – continue to slowly improve. When it came to the Phoenix area’s office sector in 2012, the concept of slow, steady upward movement was definitely the story, and experts tell GlobeSt.com that no huge surprises are expected in 2013 when it comes to either leasing or transaction sales.

According to CBRE’s Q4 MarketView, vacancy rates throughout the metro region were 23.9% — this may seem relatively high but not so much if it’s considered that the vacancy rate stood at 25.5% at the end of 2011 and 26.2% at the end of 2010. The report is somewhat more heartening on the absorption side, pointing out that the metro region had a net gain of 2 million square feet of occupied space – fifth in the United States — trailing Houston, Boston, Seattle and the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  Jones Lang LaSalle’s Office Insight painted a similar picture, pointing to net absorption of 1.8 million for the entire year and a direct vacancy rate of 23.5%.