BETHESDA, MD-Usually Bethesda is a first mover for suburban Maryland's lease activity. Not this past quarter though, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. Activity was virtually non-existent in the first quarter and the Silver Spring market saw a contraction in leasing activity in the first quarter. The construction pipeline is less than 1 million square feet and the top lease for the quarter was less than 100,000 square feet.

Activity in Northern Virginia was just as slow, JLL reports, as businesses awaited the impact of sequestration. There was some activity however--class B building in the Rosslyn-Ballston-Corridor, which has rental rates in the high-$30's to low-$40's per square foot--saw relatively robust activity, but submarkets outside the Beltway languished.

"Both markets were very stagnant for the quarter, Mike Ellis, Mid-Atlantic Market Director for JLL tells GlobeSt.com.

Much of this has to do with the new drive by tenants to reduce their space. "We see it in almost every deal," Ellis says—"tenants are taking somewhere between 10% to 15% less space. Some of it has to do with the newer, more efficient buildings, he says; much of has to do with the tenant being more efficient in its space needs.

Also, in general, Ellis says, "everyone is very cautious about what they are doing."

"We are seeing large tenants get out well ahead of lease expirations and very proactively trying to leverage their position in the market," he adds. The good news, though, is that the impact of BRAC is lessening "with the worst behind us now," Ellis says.

Please read this story for a breakdown of net absorption and other figures for the District, Maryland and Virginia in Q1.