Demand for Atlanta office space remains low
Interesting article in the AJC today about office space:
Leasing demand for office space in metro Atlanta was dismal in the first quarter of 2009, and the situation will grow worse as new office towers in Buckhead and Midtown open in an already glutted market, analysts said Thursday.
“Mostly what we’re seeing is renewals, no new leasing,” said Scott Amoson, director of research for Atlanta-based Colliers Spectrum Cauble, a commercial real estate brokerage firm. “Companies looking to pull the trigger on new deals are waiting until the market gets into a better position. Right now, it’s an oxymoron, since they could get good deals.”
Metro Atlanta’s overall 17 percent office vacancy rate was basically flat from the end of last year. But it is up 1.1 percent compared with the same quarter last year, according to the first-quarter 2009 Market Report released Thursday by Colliers.
A full office market recovery for metro Atlanta won’t begin until early 2010, although leasing activity is expected to pick up by the end of this year, Colliers reported.
I still can't get over the dire situation in Buckhead, with almost 2M SF about to deliver. Even in the best of times did we see Buckhead able to absorb that kind of volume?