IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
The Inland Empire office market just registered its strongest quarter in more than three years.
Lease rates were stable during the third quarter, dropping only two cents from the previous three months to $1.85 per square foot, according to CBRE Group Inc.
The region’s vacancy rate still has some ground to cover before it reaches single digits, but it’s headed in the right direction: 13 percent during the third quarter, down from 14.1 percent during the second quarter, CBRE reported.
Net absorption was 284,591 square feet. The Inland Empire office market has now added space in 18 of the previous 19 quarters.
The Inland Empire office market, which was stopped cold when the recession hit, has shown slow but steady improvement during the past five years as the region has added jobs
From August 2011 through August 2016, non-agricultural employment in Riverside and San Bernardino counties grew 20.4 percent while the office vacancy rate dropped from 22.4 percent to its current level, 13 percent, according to CBRE.
On the downside, there are no office projects being developed in the two-county region, and the market will have to tighten even more – putting more pressure on rental rates – to justify any office construction, CBRE reported.
