By Ryan Sarbinoff, First Vice President and Regional Manager, Marcus & Millichap A growing, educated local labor force and lower rents compared to other office hubs in the region are driving office tenants to Las Vegas. The metro registered the largest drop in office vacancy among major U.S. markets over the 12-month span that ended in March, as tenants absorbed more than 2 million square feet. Much of this space was at Class B/C properties, with the subsector noting the strongest four-quarter span for demand on record. The resulting 330-basis-point reduction in overall availability during the year-long period slashed vacancy to a more than 15-year low of 12.4 percent, enhancing the sector’s outlook heading into the second quarter. The metro’s second-largest submarket by inventory, Southwest Las Vegas, exemplifies the strength of the local office sector. During the past year, the area accounted for half of the metro’s 20,000-square-foot-plus lease executions. International Gaming Technology’s sublease of a three-story building highlighted recent activity, with VisCap Media, Agilysys, DraftKings, Kiewit and Molina Healthcare all making notable commitments that dropped vacancy to 9.4 percent in March. Apart from leasing, this submarket is also the center of development. Roughly 60 percent of the space slated for completion …
