PHOENIX-As the local office market continues to lag other major markets across the US, tenants here are making the most of the situation and trading up. Companies are relocating from older, lower quality buildings into newer, class A properties, according to research from Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial.

“It’s definitely still a tenant’s market here in Phoenix,” says Chris Jantz, vice president of research for Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial. “A lot of tenants are taking advantage of the market. They’re thinking: ‘I want to upgrade my image, and I can do that now and possibly even pay less than what I was paying for my previous space.’”

Cassidy Turley’s first quarter office market report clearly illustrates this trend, Jantz tells GlobeSt.com. He points to the fact that the entire office market ended the first quarter with 92,385 square feet of negative net absorption. In contrast, the class A office market was the only category to post positive net absorption of 46,738 square feet.