Savills Studley Releases Q2 2016 Findings for Houston

Savills Studley, the leading global commercial real estate services firm specializing in tenant representation, has released its 2016 Q2 Houston edition of the Savills Studley Office Market Report.

The quarterly report is an in-depth compilation of office leasing statistics and trends, major transactions, submarket comparisons, employment trends and investment and development trends specific to the Houston region.

Highlights from the 2016 Q2 Houston Office Market Report include:

• After failing to see any significant decline since the dramatic softening of the office market at start of 2015, overall office and Class A asking rent decreased from Q1 to Q2 2016. Katy Freeway and Westchase submarkets saw the largest percentage drops in asking rent, with CBD staying close to flat. 
• Leasing volume increased in Q2, up 75 percent from Q1 but still 17.6 percent below the long-term trend. Of the ten largest transactions of the quarter, only one was signed by an energy company. 
• Sublease availability has continued to surge in the Energy Corridor as two 500,000-square-foot plus buildings were listed for sublease in Q2. Energy companies ConocoPhillips, Shell, BP, BHP Billiton and Noble Energy all hold sublease listings totaling over 300,000 square feet a piece. 
• ExxonMobil’s departure and the energy downturn continues to hurt the Greenspoint submarket, where now nearly two-thirds of Class A stock is available.

The 2016 Q2 Savills Studley Houston Office Market Report can be found on Savills Studley’s webpage, as well as a national report and reports for each of the 29 major U.S. markets.