DC Office Market Remains Resilient

WASHINGTON, DC-The office market in the District continues to weather the economic storms far better than its counterparts in other metropolitan areas, according real estate investment brokerage firm Marcus & Millichap’s latest Office Research Report. DC’s ability to withstand the country’s economic troubles is expected to persist.

“This is a trend that will continue through 2002, Marcus & Millichap’s DC regional manager Gary Lucas. “Negative absorption and a glut of sublease space have been the big stories in 2001 and into this year in other markets, but the local office market has been shielded by the diversity of its employment base and the strengths of its government sector.” A Grubb & Ellis study concludes there was an 11.7% vacancy rate of all District office properties for the first quarter of 2002, only a 1.2% increase from the fourth quarter of 2001.