Tech Tenants Continue to Lead US Office

Dropbox just signed a lease for 737,000 square feet at 100 Owens St., the largest lease in San Francisco history.

CHICAGO—The top US office markets posted generally solid performances in 2017, with average lease rates going up, and vacancy rates trending down, according to a new report from Colliers International. The company attributes much of the vibrancy to the need among tech-oriented tenants to expand. But the prognosis for 2018 is not uniformly rosy.

“There is a clear bifurcation in demand,” Stephen Newbold, national director of office research, tells GlobeSt.com. Tenants occupying high-end, class A spaces in the most prestigious submarkets have agreed to pay record-setting rents, but many older spaces are being left behind.