Dallas Fort-Worth Market Update: End-of-Year Improvement

January 26, 2022

The Metroplex’s office market closed 2021 with its best showing for this key indicator.

The month of December brought no change in occupancy across Dallas-Fort Worth’s office market, according to CommercialEdge. The average vacancy rate remained at 17.6 percent, the same as the previous month and matching the year’s best performance. The index was 100 basis points lower year-over-year and 90 basis points lower than in January.

When compared to similar secondary markets, vacancy in the Metroplex was 60 basis points above Austin but 390 basis points above Atlanta, where the rate reached 21.5 percent. The rate remained unchanged since November, but higher than the national rate of 15.5 percent, up 130-basis-points year-over-year as of December.

December’s asking rents rose across the metro to $30.03 per square foot. The full-service equivalent listing was up 4.8 percent month-over-month and 5.4 percent year-over-year. The value remained lower than the national rate of $38.44 per square foot, down 40 basis points from November.

Finishing strong

The metro’s vacancy rate started at 18.5 percent in January 2021 and continued its rise through June, when it peaked at 19.4 percent. Starting at midyear, the trend reversed course until vacancy declined to its lowest level of the year in November.

One of Dallas’ largest deals initiated last year closed in January 2022, when UT Southwestern Medical Center signed a 180,000-square-foot lease at Pegasus Park. Other significant activity included both new leases and renewals:

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. leased 163,005 square feet in the Plaza of the Americas at 600 N. Pearl St. in Dallas;
Hilton Worldwide renewed its 150,350-square-foot lease at The Colonnade in Addison;
Integrity Marketing Group relocated headquarters from Cypress Waters to downtown Dallas with a 100,000-square-foot lease at Fountain Place;
Multiview signed an 82,093-square-foot renewal at One Panorama Center in Irving.

CommercialEdge covers 8M+ property records in the United States. View the latest CommercialEdge national monthly office report here.