South Florida Office Vacancy Down To 13.2%

The South Florida Office market ended the first quarter 2014 with a vacancy rate of 13.2%. 

The vacancy rate was down over the previous quarter, with net absorption totaling positive 506,503 square feet in the first quarter. That compares to positive 713,224 square feet in the fourth quarter 2013. Vacant sublease space decreased in the quarter, ending the quarter at 581,058 square feet. 

Some of the notable move-in’s for 2014 include: Tyco Integrated Security moving into 72,047 square feet at 4700 Exchange Ct; Farmers Insurance Exchange Group moving into 58,461 square feet at Royal Palm II at Southpointe; and Newsmax Media moving into 50,410 square feet at 750@Park. 

Rental rates ended the first quarter at $26.32, a decrease over the previous quarter. 

A total of five buildings delivered to the market in the quarter totaling 118,890 square feet, with 924,336 square feet still under construction at the end of the quarter. 

This trend is compared to the U.S. National Office vacancy rate, which decreased to 11.5% from the previous quarter, with net absorption positive 21.68 million square feet in the first quarter. Average rental rates increased to $22.17, and 321 buildings delivered to the market totaling more than 16.1 million square feet. 
 
Source:  CoStar