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LEASING DECLINES
Deal volume totaled 1 million square feet (msf), a 27.8% decline from last quarter's 1.5 msf and well short of the historical average of 1.8 msf.
AVAILABILITY UP
The region’s overall availability rate increased by 20 basis points to 15.2% in the first quarter of the 2018. The Class A rate fell by 50 basis points to 18.1%, its lowest mark since late 2016, and has dropped by 50 basis points from year end 2016.
RENTAL RATE INCREASES
Regional overall asking rent ($4.08) rose by 2.3% during the first quarter and jumped by 3.0% year-on-year. Class A rent ($4.30) increased by 2.5% during the quarter, but has fallen by 1.2% from the first quarter of 2017.
INVESTORS TARGET THE VALLEY
Office property sales during the last six months (through February 2018) totaled $3.1 billion, a 62% increase compared to the previous six-month total of $1.9 billion.
"The Valley is in many ways a collection of company towns. Google, Apple and Facebook dominate demand for talent and space in their own domains. Downtown San Jose has largely been an island operating in a much calmer leasing environment -- Google's massive transit village promises to end this isolation, pushing more firms South."
Nathan Currie, Corporate Managing Director