The U.S. office market became more tenant-friendly in the first quarter in many big cities as a seven-year expansion slowed.
In San Francisco, vacancy rose for the fourth consecutive quarter amid a surge of new supply, according to real-estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. A mixed-use development at 181 Fremont St. hasn’t announced any leases for its 432,000 square feet of office space, even though it is scheduled to open later this year.
Asking rents in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, meanwhile, averaged $80.45 a square foot annually in the first quarter, compared with $81.16 at the end of the first quarter in 2016, according to real estate services firm CBRE Group Inc. CBG +0.12% The vacancy rate crept up to 11.9% from 11.6%.
Overall, average asking office rents increased 1.8% between the first quarter of 2016 and 2017, the slowest annual rate of growth since 2011, according to data firm Reis Inc.