Minneapolis Office Market Accelerates

MINNEAPOLIS—The winter cold snap endured by most of the US hit Minneapolis particularly hard, forcing its economy to contract 2.9% during the first quarter. But with the coming of spring, the metro area rebounded and activity in its office market accelerated, according to a report on the second quarter by Cassidy Turley.

The local unemployment rate, for example, already far below the national average, continued to drop and hit just 4.39%, the lowest rate since 2007. And the multi-tenant office market absorbed 385,000-square-feet in the second quarter, bringing the overall metro office vacancy rate to 15.7%, lower than the historical average of 17.9% and the first time it has been below 16% since the fourth quarter of 2007.