Colliers Report: COVID impact hits Columbia office market
January 4, 2022
Commercial Real Estate Research & Forecast Report
Q4 2021 Columbia Office
Market Highlights
COVID impacted office employment in the Columbia office market this quarter with the addition of vacant space by major office users whose staff continued to work remotely. In the fourth quarter there was 218,787 square feet of net negative absorption which accounts for most of the negative absorption in the calendar year. One building in the northeast Columbia submarket accounted for 146,000 square feet of this number. Vacancy rose over the year to 15.5% but Class A rents in the CBD were largely stable at $23.65 per square foot.
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Key Takeaways
- Several large blocks of space became available in 2021
- Class A rents are stable despite the increase in vacancy and net negative absorption
- Large blocks of B and C class space are likely to be available for the next several years
- Buildings with renovated common areas and amenities desired by tenants
Summary
The blocks of space that were made available consist of difficult-to-lease sublease space. Coupled with the lack of new construction and rapidly increasing upfit costs, this created opportunity for well-capitalized landlords with amenetized properties.
