HOUSTON-Though the metro area has been on fire for the past year, absorption and leasing momentum in the office sector pulled back during Q1 2013. According to Colliers International's Houston Office Market Research & Forecast Report, absorption stood at 76,000 square feet (far less from the 1.3 million square feet posted during Q1 2012).

According to Lisa Bridges, director of market research with Collier's Houston office, the absorption figures were somewhat startling. "We've had at least half a million square feet to 1 million square feet of absorption for quite some time," she explains, also adding that large blocks of space aren't really sitting empty, either. She goes on to point out that many new leases signed during the past few quarters were signed in buildings that are currently under construction. As such, she forecasts that absorption will pick up throughout the remainder of 2013.

In the meantime, her forecast is for approximately 1.3 million square feet in new office deliveries, and a city-wide vacancy at around 14%. Vacancy currently stands at 13.9% out of a total inventory of 197.8 million square feet. "Though we're delivering," Bridges says, "we'll be absorbing." The statistics also showed a slight increase in rental rates from $23.70 per square foot in Q1 2012 to $23.86 per square foot in the quarter just past.