Demand for office and industrial space remained slow, and rental rates fell during the first half of 2010, but real estate market fundamentals are expected to improve as the economy improves and job growth returns later this year, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield of Texas.
The overall office vacancy rate in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is 22.5 percent, up from 21.3 percent at the same time last year, C&W statistics show. Asking full-service rental rates across building classes fell to $20.62 per square foot annually from $20.83 a year ago.
Just 345,000 of office space was constructed in the first half of this year, compared to 1.6 million square feet during the first half of 2009.
The vacancy rate for industrial space increased to 13.1 percent from 11.8 percent a year ago. Average rental rates for industrial space dropped to $3.52 per square foot per year, from $3.63 a year ago.
Industrial construction completions totaled 658,130 square feet, down sharply from the 6.9 million square feet completed during the first six months of 2009.