CoStar: Austin office market 4Q 2014

AUSTIN – The Central Texas office market ended fourth quarter 2014 with a vacancy rate of 8.6 percent, according to CoStar Group.

The vacancy rate was unchanged from 3Q 2014. Net absorption totaled 136,619 sf in 4Q 2014, down from 762,325 sf in the 3Q 2014. Vacant sublease space increased in 4Q 2014, ending at 738,190 sf.

Tenants moving into large blocks of space in 2014 include SolarWinds moving into 229,792 sf at The Summit at Lantana  — Building 4; HomeAway, Inc. moving into 114,665 sf at Domain 2; and Acxiom moving into 32,945 sf at River Place Corporate Park — Bldg. III.

Rental rates ended 4Q 2014 at $28.44, a decrease over the previous quarter.

Two buildings were delivered to the market in 4Q 2014 totaling 131,500 sf, with 3,235,427 sf still under construction at the end of the year.

This trend is compared to the U.S. National Office vacancy rate, which decreased to 10.9 percent from 3Q 2014, with net absorption positive 37.5 million sf in 4Q 2014.

Average rental rates increased to $22.65, and 194 buildings delivered to the market totaling almost 15.9 million sf.