2022 certainly kicked off at high speed with almost 3 times the space delivered being absorbed in the quarter. 4.3 million square feet of space was absorbed/newly occupied and 1.4 million square feet opened which drove occupancy to 92% in the quarter and 91.7% on a trailing 12-month basis. Absorption struggled in late 2020, likely resulting from the temporary Covid shutdowns, but 2021 brought increasing demand and 2022 continues to follow that trend. Some markets really outperformed in these first few months – Miami absorbed 300K square feet over deliveries and Houston absorbed 500K square feet above and beyond deliveries. Los Angeles, Phoenix & Denver all had significant demand outpacing their new supply as well.
Overall, U.S. construction deliveries have remained low despite increasing starts due to project delays. The construction pipeline has been expanding and many projects are scheduled to deliver throughout the remainder of the year. Want to know more about your market? Subscribe to Revista!
