HOUSTON – The overall Houston office occupancy rate has dipped to its lowest point in more than 18 years, according to the NAI Partners commercial real estate firm.
The woes of Houston’s office market stem from the retraction in the energy industry.
Houston’s overall office slipped to 79.5 percent in the second quarter of 2017, the lowest point since NAI Partners began tracking office occupancy in 1999.
NAI Partners reports the gross average rent dipped to $28 per SF in the second quarter, down from $28.22 a year ago.
Although the decline in the supply of sublease space has been much ballyhooed, Houston still has 11 million SF of sublease space on the market. It peaked in 2016 with 12 million SF.
Some 2 million SF of sublease space will be returned to landlords in the next two years, NAI reported.