Downtown San Antonio’s net absorption of office space fell to a five-year low in the first quarter, even as no new space was delivered.
The drop in net absorption – the amount of space that tenants move into minus the space they move out of – was a reversal from last year, when there was a sharp uptick in leasing,
according to the San Antonio Business Journal. Since then, it’s been in a free fall.
Downtown San Antonio’s net absorption rate is now -522,052 square feet, compared with -135,601 square feet last year, suggesting that tenants are vacating the area in increasingly higher numbers.
The report, by real estate firm NAI, indicated that tenants are dropping their downtown leases for ones in the Northwest section of the city. Tenants may be increasingly drawn to the amenities of the area, including commerce centers such as La Cantera and the Rim, as well as the economic activity revolving around the University of Texas campus, according to SABJ.
Creating the ideal workplace filled with amenities and perks has been a growing trend in commercial real estate as businesses aim to lure their employees back to the office after more than two years of working at home.
“Just provide a better work environment for productivity than they can get at home,” says Chase Bourdelaise, managing director of the consulting services practice at commercial real estate firm Transwestern. Some companies are even bringing in coffee or crepe carts as an offering to workers, Bourdelaise told SABJ.
Even with all the bells and whistles, many employees aren’t interested in coming back to the office at all. About 50 percent of Texans working remotely said they would look for a new job if required to come into the office full time.
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[SABJ] — Maddy Sperling