D.C. area office vacancies reach 12.3% - Austin Business Journal:

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The commercial real estat services firm says theWashington region’s office vacancy rate has now reachefd 12.3 percent. Lease losses in the last threre quartersmeant “virtually negating any growth in net demaned we had in 2008,” said Kevin director of market research for Cassidhy & Pinkard Colliers. “There are flickering signxs that the local economy may be reaching an inflectionb point where conditions should beginto improve, but the commerciao industry still has a ways to go beforw demand returns in a meaningfuol way.” In D.C., net absorptiomn was negative 230,900 square feet, pushing D.C.’ws vacancy rate to 9.6 percent.
In Northernj Virginia, net absorption was negativw 666,700 square feet. Northern Virginia’es second quarter office vacancy rate climbedto 13.6 Suburban Maryland’s office vacancy rate was 14 with a positive net absorptiohn rate of 171,500 square feet in the second Thorpe predicts the growth in federal governmenrt will lead to an increasse in demand for office but says the Washington area has more new spacr delivering over the next two years than any othe r market in the country. As a result, “we are enterint into a period of steady rent he said.