HOUSTON — A robust American economy is strengthening the fundamentals of the country’s office market, keeping vacancy in check and driving asking rents up, according to a new report from Houston-based Transwestern. Strong job growth resulting in a 3.7 percent unemployment rate in October, coupled with a 3.5 percent increase in GDP during the third quarter, propelled the U.S. office market to nearly 23 million square feet of positive net absorption. Year-to-date absorption in the office market has now increased by 17.1 percent compared to the first three quarters of 2017, per the report. Year-over-year, the national vacancy rate has held steady at 10.1 percent, nearing its lowest mark during the current cycle. Asking rents have increased by 4 percent year-over-year to a national average of $26.03 per square foot. Transwestern’s report tracked competitive single- and multi-tenant office buildings in 49 select U.S. markets. Owner-occupied, medical offices and government-owned buildings were not included in the analysis. According to Ryan Tharp, director of research in Transwestern’s Dallas office, the combined momentum from quarterly job and GDP growth was strong enough to offset soft wage gains, which would otherwise have dampened the sector’s performance. Despite a tight labor market, wages increased by …
