AUSTIN-The story for the area's Q2 office sector can be summed up as follows: Lower vacancies; higher rents. Specifically, according to NAI REOC's research, area-wide vacancy came in at 12.3% out of an inventory of 41 million square feet (versus the 14.7% reported during the same time a year ago) and average asking rents increasing $.50 to $24.80 per square foot.

The experts at NAI REOC note that the cause for these statistics is due to new jobs being added (28,700 during the past 12 months) and population growth (more than 25,000 new residents came to the area within the past year).

“A decidedly strong 8.2% growth rate within the Professional & Business Services sector is of particular significance to the local office market due to the close correlation between job growth and demand for office space,” comments Bob Rein, NAI REOC's associate vice president. The job growth translated into 384,727 square feet of positive net absorption in the local office market.