New Jersey’s office market had the lowest availability rate in 10 years, according to CBRE’s fourth quarter 2018 office market report released Thursday.
Leasing activity in the Garden State, CBRE said, has increased every year by 113,000 square feet, although annual activity was down 8 percent when compared to 2017.
There was 1.6 million square feet of net absorption, which is the highest recorded since 2005, the report said. Absorption has been positive in three out of the four quarters of 2018.
“The year ended on a high note with many encouraging signs for the New Jersey economy and office market, including the lowest unemployment rate since 2001,” Rémy P. deVarenne Jr., senior vice president, CBRE, said. “Although we have seen positive momentum during the past few years, we are cautiously optimistic about the future.”
New Jersey had an availability rate of 20.4 percent in the quarter with an average asking lease rate at $26.45 per-square-foot. This, CBRE said, was the second highest average rate since the first quarter of 2002.
Major leases in the quarter included:
- Phillips-Van Heusen, 224,000 square feet, renewal, 1001 Frontier Road in Bridgewater;
- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, 110,000 square feet, renewal and expansion, Harborside Plaza 2;
- First Data Corp., 48,000 square feet, renewal, 101 Hudson St.
To view the full report, click here.
