Houston’s office market recovery hits a speed bump in Q2

Over the last two quarters, Houston’s office market has shown signs of a slow recovery from the energy downturn, but it hit a speed bump in second quarter, reported Colliers.

During the quarter, the market posted negative net absorption of 842,200 square feet, a substantial reversal from the positive absorption of 492,000 square feet recorded in the first quarter.

The newest trend of vacating older spaces for modern/creative, efficient interior designs has tenants effectively leasing less space without reducing head count. Unless the tenant is in an expansion mode, this trend will lead to a reduction in the amount of office space leased. Leasing activity has trended down in the first half of 2019. The majority of the leasing activity is a result of horizontal movement (exist