DALLAS—The US office market outlook shows a sector that has continued its agonizingly slow recovery into 2017, but faces the prospect of rising cyclical risks associated with slower employment growth, according to a report by Ten X Commercial. In addition, the analysis includes the top five buy and sell markets for office properties.

The report pinpoints Dallas, Atlanta, Oakland, Sacramento and Portland, OR as the five US cities showing the greatest promise as buy opportunities for investors of office properties. These markets are boosted by growing populations and strong employment, keeping rents high even as supply additions loom on the horizon.

Though metro unemployment rose above 4% in early 2017, the overall Dallas economy is enjoying a healthy expansion with overall employment at an all-time peak. The professional/business services and financial services sectors are growing at particularly brisk rates, with job numbers increasing year-over-year at 3 and 5%, respectively. Despite the city's economic growth, equilibrium between supply and demand has kept vacancy levels in the 21% range for the past two years. While this vacancy rate is high by the standards of most markets, it is at a level that is generating rent growth. Office rent growth has been robust and rents are projected to reach all-time peaks in 2018, as the availability rate falls below 20%. The Ten-X recessionary downturn scenario for 2019 to 2020 anticipates blows to the Dallas market, with declining rents and diminished NOI.