He tells of one client that had submitted RFPs for space in Washington, DC's East End in the 90,000 sf to 100,000 sf range in May. Negotiations have been ongoing since then, for a variety of reasons, he says. "But the point is, here we are in September and none of the buildings we are considering have pulled out because somebody else rented the space." Obviously, he says, this is good for tenants that want more negotiating room to reduce costs.

Jim Kornick, senior director in the Washington, DC office of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co., tells GlobeSt.com that, yes, in general office rents are rising and will likely do so over the next six months. "In specific submarkets, though, that may not be the case," he adds. "In some areas such as the Dulles Corridor there is so much new product coming online that one would expect rents to soften." By contrast, in such submarkets as Bethesda, Shady Grove and Rockville, MD, the average rental increase has been 5% a year. "I would expect that to continue," he says.

Margarita Foster, vice president and director of Research for Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers here agrees that some submarkets will outperform others. She points to Tysons Corner, where vacancies have been rapidly falling. "There are few large blocks of space available there," she tells GlobeSt.com. "Folks are being forced to pay up if they want to locate in that submarket. There is not much Class A space available anymore." Another tight submarket, she says, is the Rossyln-Ballston Corridor.