by Calculated Risk on 7/05/2016 11:36:00 AM

Reis released their Q2 2016 Office Vacancy survey this morning. Reis reported that the office vacancy rate declined to 16.0% in Q2, from 16.1% in Q1. This is down from 16.5% in Q2 2015, and down from the cycle peak of 17.6%.

From Reis Senior Economist and Director of Research Ryan Severino:

For the eighth consecutive quarter, the national vacancy rate declined, falling by 10 basis points to 16.0%. As anticipated, the improvements in the space market are ongoing, but are very slight on a quarter-to-quarter basis. ...

Both asking and effective rents grew by 0.6% during the second quarter, the twenty-second consecutive quarter of asking and effective rent growth. These figures represent a modest decline versus the first quarter when asking and effective rents grew by 0.9% and 1.0% respectively. The 12-month changes for asking and effective rent growth both also slowed slightly versus the figures from the first quarter. Rent growth during the second quarter was likely hampered by the relatively weak demand and somewhat poor performance from the labor market.

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the office vacancy rate starting in 1980 (prior to 1999 the data is annual).

Reis reported the vacancy rate was at 16.0% in Q2.

Office vacancy data courtesy of Reis.