Another third-quarter Broward office report, recently released by Grubb & Ellis Co., shows the overall vacancy rate was up a slight 10 basis points to 19.4%, compared with the second quarter. This was due in large part to the completion of the Las Olas City Centre. The building was delivered with more than a quarter-million sf of available space. This caused the vacancy rate in the central business district to climb 4.6 percentage points to 19.8%.

The Grubb report does show two consecutive quarters with greater leasing activity, making analysts optimistic that a recovery may be coming. "After sitting on the sidelines for the past year or more, some companies are ready to move forward with their space needs," the Grubb & Ellis report states.

Turning to Palm Beach County, the overall office vacancy in this county rose 90 basis points to 17.5%, according to Grubb & Ellis' Q3 office report. This is in line with the 17.4% overall vacancy rate reported for Palm Beach County by Cushman & Wakefield.

The 13.6% vacancy rate in the CBD is up as well; however, this area continues to be the "strongest central business district in South Florida," the report states. This figure compares to 14.4% vacancy rate in the Miami central business district and 19.8% vacancy rate for the Fort Lauderdale central business district.

Average asking rents increased in the third quarter, according to the study. For class A space, this figure rose 65 cents per sf to $27.63 per sf, and for class B space, the number grew 24 cents per sf to $20.08 per sf. "Despite large amounts of space coming on the market, particularly sublease space, owners have been less flexible with quoted rental rates, offering other concessions instead," the report states.