Houston Office Market
Houston’s office market ended the first quarter with a total of 699,266 square feet of positive net absorption, according to quarterly market research compiled by Commercial Gateway, the commercial division of the Houston Association of REALTORS®. Reversing last year’s trends, Class B space accounted for 86.3% of the first quarter’s positive activity, recording its second consecutive quarter of positive activity. This year paints a different picture for Class B properties than in recent years; absorption in First Quarter 2011 was a negative 468,093 square feet for Class B and overall negative 264,293 citywide. This quarter, Class A buildings citywide recorded negative absorption after seven consecutive positive quarters. Overall, seven of the 13 market areas, including the Central Business District (CBD), recorded more space coming on the market than being taken off, with several large former sublease spaces entering the direct market during the first quarter. The three submarkets which recorded the largest gains in absorption were the Energy Corridor, North/The Woodlands/Conroe and the Northwest. One large lease committed in the Northwest but not yet counted as absorbed was Noble Energy’s 497,447 square feet in a former HP building; the building is reported to be undergoing renovations with the company planning a move in Second Quarter 2013, which is when the space will be recorded as absorbed. The current 12.6% vacancy rate is the lowest vacancy since Second Quarter 2009’s 12.5% rate, and 1.3% lower than that same period last year. Selected buildings are seeing slight increases in rental rates, but the overall annual, weighted averaged, gross rental rate quoted for this quarter of $22.78 is slightly lower than last quarter’s $22.90 rate and lower than the same period last year, which was $23.19. The CBD’s quoted rates also showed minimal decreases from the same period last year, reporting $31.46 today vs. $31.60 then. Overall sublease space, at 2.2 million square feet, decreased almost 300,000 square feet from last quarter, and a total 21.5% decrease from the same quarter a year ago. More sublease space is either being leased at very competitive rates or even returned as lease terms move closer to expiration. Construction activity is looking up with nine buildings currently under construction, four in The Woodlands, two each in the both the Uptown and West submarkets, and one building in the North Belt West submarket. Scheduled for completion in 2012 are the two properties in the West and the one property in the North Belt West submarkets. Total under construction is 1.97 million square feet, following completions in 2011 of six buildings totaling 2.2 million square feet. The Woodlands is home to the largest number and size of buildings and includes the 549,260-square-foot Anadarko Tower II, the 234,589-square-foot Waterway 3, and two 32,000-square-foot buildings in the Black Forest Technology Park. Several other projects in the West, The Woodlands and Westchase have been announced for starts later this year.Houston Industrial Market
Houston’s industrial market continues to improve with positive absorption recorded and limited major construction on the horizon, according to statistics released by Commercial Gateway. With a ninth consecutive quarter of positive absorption, the industrial market has seen a gradual decrease in its vacancy rate and a stabilization of rental rates. Vacancy overall is down to 7.2%, compared to 8.4% a year ago. Net absorption in the first quarter totaled almost 1.3 million square feet, which is triple the amount noted in First Quarter 2011, but down from last quarter’s almost 2.6 million square feet. Warehouse/distribution properties recorded about 1.1 million square feet this quarter, continuing a five-year trend of positive absorption and accounting for 85.5% of all absorption. Properties classified as manufacturing are reporting the lowest vacancy rate of 4.6%, with crane-ready buildings still in short supply. Properties classified as warehouse/distribution represent about 72.5% of the total market. The two largest leases of the quarter were Gulf Winds International’s 247,240-square-foot lease at Port Crossing and Francesca’s Collection’s 217,869-square-foot lease at ClayPoint Distribution Park. Rental rates have increased marginally during the last four quarters, with this quarter’s quoted, weighted averaged annual rental rate of $5.65 per square foot slightly higher than reported a year ago. Sublease space has not fluctuated much during the last two years, with 1.8 million reported in the first quarter, which represents a slight drop from fourth quarter but is about the same as this time last year. Construction activity is still brisk, with build-to-suits leading the way. Currently, 43 buildings in 33 projects totaling about 2.2 million square feet are under construction, with only the largest, the 475,000-square-foot, build-to-suit for Ben E. Keith Food Distribution Center, scheduled for completion in 2013. All others should be completed in 2012, with 13 properties slated for completion in the second quarter. This past year also recorded the completion of 22 buildings totaling 1.6 million square feet, with nine of those representing 802,027 square feet built specifically for individual companies.###
Patsy Fretwell is a senior market analyst with Commercial Gateway and has more than 20 years of experience in real estate market research. She can be reached at patsy@commgate.com.{ 1 comment }
