PHOENIX-Exclusive second quarter data from Jones Lang LaSalle indicates the local office market has bottomed. “We’ve seen the worst of it,” says Dennis Desmond, senior managing director in the firm’s local office. “That doesn’t mean the market will skyrocket back to 2006 and 2007 levels, but the message I am sharing with investors is that now is the time to buy so they can ride the market back up.”

Perhaps the most notable statistic prepared by Jones Lang LaSalle addresses rental rates, Desmond notes. He points out that during the second quarter, marketwide rental rates decreased just two cents, while class A rents actually got a bit of a “bump.” Currently, the average rental rate is $21.59.

Desmond notes that the Phoenix office market has historically seen double digit rental rate growth in recovering markets. “No one will underwrite that today, but everyone is counting on it,” he says. “I think it will happen again. In 2014, that growth could be spectacular.”