Austin, a growing tech hub, is experiencing an increase in office vacancy rates due to the tech sector’s challenges. The metro’s vacancy rate rose by 5.9 percent year-over-year (YOY) in April, reaching 22 percent. According to CommercialEdge’s May U.S. office report, Austin led the nation in development on a percentage-of-stock basis, with underway projects representing 6.7 percent of its existing inventory. Meanwhile, Miami remained the leader in the South in terms of prices, with asking rents coming in at $46.60/sf. Washington, D.C., and Houston led the South in sales volume, with $509M and $466M in closed office deals, respectively.
The average U.S. office listing rate stood at $38.23/sf, rising 2.3 percent YOY. The national vacancy rate increased by 100 basis points YOY to 16.7 percent. Under-construction office space reached 118.2M sf nationwide, accounting for 1.8 percent of the total stock. The report highlights the challenges currently faced by the office market, especially in tech-driven cities like Austin. To learn more about the current market conditions, read the original article [here](https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/news/newstalk-texas/?Item=29177).