ATLANTA-Overall leasing activity in metro Atlanta has still notshifted out of low gear and the volume of office rentaltransactions recorded so far this year has been clocking in at alaggardly pace. So says Jones Lang LaSalle’slatest Office Highlights report for the secondquarter.

JLL reports that leasing volume was down just slightly fromfirst quarter with 2.9 million square feet of activity signed forin the second quarter. And while tour activity is up from where itwas in 2010 and early 2011, JLL’s research shows the tenantpipeline for activity that would bring net new growth to Atlantaremains lackluster.

“Because of Atlanta’s highly diversified tenant base, the citycannot rely on any one job sector to spawn employment growth as insome markets like Texas, where leasing has been bolstered by bigenergy or Silicon Valley with its unending high-tech boom,” thereport says. “While today’s deals are not being done with therecord concessionary fire sale pricing seen just a few years ago,most of the metro’s best addresses can still be had at adiscount.”