WASHINGTON, DC-Currently the Washington DC vacancy rate is about 11%, according to Jones Lang LaSalle figures. In Northern Virginia it is 15.5% and in suburban Maryland it is 17%. Hopefully, the local communities are comfortable with—or at least accepting of—those numbers, because there is little likelihood they will change dramatically this year, JLL research director Scott Homa tells GlobeSt.com.

Until the government has a better sense of its budget—and is able to convey its expected direction to the market—everyone will be sitting tight, he says. “Tenants dependent on government activity, such as defense contractors, will continue to make short term rather than long term decisions in renewing existing spaces,” Homa predicts. “We will see very little organic growth in 2012 from these companies.” Possibly a shift may come with the presidential elections, he added. “And even then, we could still be facing another period of stagnation if the election doesn’t resolve the current logjam in Congress.”

Homa isn’t necessarily saying that a Republican win or a Democratic win for the White House would be good for the local industry. Rather, he says, the combination of a less combative Congress and an administration that is able to work with Congress is what the District and surrounding areas will need to experience growth. “It doesn’t matter who is holding power, in fact,” he says. “What is necessary now is forward movement on the budget and debt ceiling issues.” The private sector will be a driver of what little organic growth there is in the District this year, he adds.