Austin’s Vacancy Rate Is Nation’s Highest

According to a recent Commercial Cafe survey, the highest vacancy rates in the region last month were in Austin, Texas, (nearly 28%) and in Dallas-Fort Worth (23.2%), which also boast some of the largest office supply pipelines in the country.

Houston office sales totaled $1.2 billion through June, the second-most among top Southern U.S. markets and the fifth-largest nationwide. At the same time, Houston was one of the most affordable office investment markets in the region, as properties here changed hands for nearly $109 per square foot — the third-lowest in the region and eighth-most-affordable investment market nationwide.

Texas markets dominated regional development as roughly 61% of office space under construction in the South was concentrated in Dallas-Fort Worth (3.25 million square feet), Austin (2.71 million square feet), and Houston (nearly 1.8 million square feet). Additionally, in June, the office development pipeline in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex was the largest in the South and second only to Boston nationally.