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Overall rents rise, driven by spikes in select submarkets
In the third quarter of 2019, the overall average office asking rent stood at $23.80 per square foot (psf) in the Baltimore region, reflecting an annual increase of 1.5% and 1.8% over the quarter. Rents ranged from a low of $15.73 psf in Carroll County, to a high of $28.95 psf in the Anne Arundel submarket. Class A rents saw a similar increase, rising by 1.5% year over year and 1.6% over the quarter, to $26.53 psf. Asking rent growth is being driven by suburban markets with Central Business District (CBD) rents decreasing by 1.6% year over year, while suburban rents rose by 3.6% over the same period. Over the trailing four quarters, rent spikes were seen in Harford County (+27.0%), Baltimore County East (+7.6%), and the CBD (+5.3%).