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Availability rates remain high, but declining
While still elevated, availability in Charlotte saw some decline over the past year. Overall availability decreased 130 basis points year-over-year, ending Q1 at 13.0% - on par with levels seen four years ago. Class A availability saw a more pronounced decline, dropping 230 basis points over the year to 14.6%. Overall availabilities range from just 8.2% in the Randolph Road/Cotswold submarket to 16.8% in the University/ Northeast submarket. Tightening is occurring at a much more rapid pace in the CBD submarket where availability fell 260 basis points over the year to 12.7%. Asking rents, in general, have increased over the past year. Overall rent rose 6.3% to $27.69 per square foot (psf) year-over-year, while class A asking rent increased by 6.7% over the same period to $30.66 psf. Asking rents rose in every submarket except South Carolina, which declined year-over-year by 4.3%, to $17.20 psf.