More and more tech industries and technology related companies are relocating to Atlanta due to its business friendly environment, relatively low cost of living and its talented workforce stemming from Georgia Tech. These companies want to be located in walkable, intown submarkets with mass transit options and a large amenity base. That is why we are currently seeing higher occupancy rates than our past historical averages in submarkets like Midtown, Buckhead and Central Perimeter.

The activity we are seeing in this current cycle is in contrast to the previous cycle. Atlanta's economy is more diverse now than it was 10 years ago. In previous real estate cycle's, Atlanta's growth was much more organic with tenants expanding and moving from one building to another.

GlobeSt.com: How much more room is there for rents to grow? What will stop the growth?

Weghorst: With robust job growth of 70,000-plus new jobs per year and limited spec office construction, Atlanta's office demand will continue to outpace supply. This will lead to continued absorption of office space which will keep pushing rental rates. While we forecast rental rate growth to slightly taper off from what we have seen over the past 24 months, Atlanta's office rates will continue to grow faster than the 1.4% annual growth rate we saw on average over the past 20 years.