Arising tide of new office projects may be skewing the national average rental rate upward and obscuring increased leasing challenges for second-generation properties in many markets, Transwestern’s latest U.S. office market report suggests.
Monthly asking rent averaged $26.97 per square foot in the third quarter, representing a 3.4% increase from a year earlier and a five-year gain of 19.7%. Much of that national increase reflects above-market rents at new or renovated projects, where landlords have incurred elevated material and labor costs to complete amenity-rich offerings.
