U.S. Office Market Overview for 2019

Developing and executing a strategic plan to help manage your real estate and occupancy costs is an important consideration for your company. A well thought out plan will have long term financial implications and will impact the ability to attract and retain talent moving forward.

By sharing some examples of how other organizations are successfully using their space, we hope you will gain valuable insights to develop your own workplace and occupancy strategies.

U.S. office market overview: Where are we and where are we headed?

The U.S. office market is poised for moderate growth in 2019. Office-using employment is expected to grow by 1.6% or by more than 300,000 jobs—a modest deceleration from 2018 primarily due to a very tight labor market. Sunbelt and tech markets are expected to register the largest percentage gains in employment, led by San Francisco, Orlando, Houston, Austin and Tampa, each at 2.7% or more. San Francisco, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, New York, and Chicago are projected to add the largest numbers of jobs in 2019—between 15,000 and 25,000 each.

Office-using employment growth, although at a slower rate due to labor market constraints, will drive further office market expansion in 2019. New office product will help meet strong tenant demand for modern, efficient, highly amenitized space to attract and retain employees in an increasingly competitive labor market. Occupiers will continue to seek flexible space offerings and lease structures that keep them adaptable to changes in the economy and their organizational needs.

2019 Economic Outlook

With the pace of both GDP and employment growth well above the norm for this cycle, will it continue in 2019?

Our view is that confidence and momentum will drive consumer spending and business investment in 2019, leading to solid economic growth that will benefit all sectors of the U. S. economy. The strong economy will support interest rate hikes in 2019, leading to gradual, moderate increases in long-term rates. But the U.S. economic outlook is generally positive as we head into 2019.

Rental Rates Comparison