GlobeSt.com:How well is urban relocation working for the companies that have moved to CBDs?

Monet: It depends on the demands of the tenant's industry. A lot of companies that might contemplate urban relocation can't get past the sticker shock of a costly migration from suburb to CBD. The vast majority of companies that have moved or are moving to urban centers are in young, vibrant industries like technology and media. In order to succeed, these businesses and start-ups have to attract and retain a specific employee base of talented, highly educated Generation Y and Millennials, who gravitate to the diversity and amenities of the urban core. These companies are the first to relocate to CBDs, and generally compensate for the higher rents with more efficient use of smaller spaces.

In a 2013 CoreNet survey of urban relocation conducted by DTZ, an impressive 80% of respondents reported improved productivity and efficiency in their urban locations. The strategy worked: employees are more highly motivated in these open, shared workplaces with space planned to encourage collaboration, leading to increased team interactions and greater knowledge sharing. And the fear of being uncool is a driver for these young companies. In the Los Angeles metro area, legal, finance and engineering firms accounted for most of the leasing in L.A.'s CBD, while the entertainment, new media and advertising industries with their younger, tech-savvy employee base, are driving growth in the suburban Westside and South Bay, for example, in the new creative developments of Playa Vista.

GlobeSt.com: How do suburban rents compare with rents for CBD office space?

Monet: From the perspective of the past six or seven years, almost every market is seeing increasing rents, accompanied by reduced TI allowances and rental abatement as the market recovers. Based on the Moody's/RCA Commercial Property Price Index (CPPI), Colliers reported, pricing for major metro CBD properties in the second quarter of 2014 is now 16.6% above the pre-recession peak. Portland, for example, saw 3.6 percent quarterly increases in asking rents. The Portland-area suburban markets are getting tighter as there are currently no existing options in the CBD for class A tenants needing more than 75,000 square feet. Vacancy rates in the suburban Sunset Corridor have fallen to 10.9%, getting closer to single-digit vacancy.

Growth was strongest for non-major metro suburban assets, at 11.2%, but rents for suburban properties are still 24 percent lower than at the pre-crash peak. Asking rates for suburban Class A office space averaged $27.33 per square foot at the end of the second quarter of 2014, according to Colliers, a figure that represented a .8% increased from the first quarter average of $27.17. Growth was strongest for non-major metro suburban properties, at 11.2%, reflecting investor interest broadening to include more geographies as well as suburban assets. Jones Lang LaSalle forecasts all rents to grow by another 10% to 25% in the next two and a half years, depending on the market.

GlobeSt.com: What about vacancy rates in the suburban office market?

Monet: Due to the recovering economy, employment growth and tight supply nationwide caused vacancy rates in Q2 2014 to reflect moderate increases in occupancy. According to Colliers, In the U.S. both the CBD and suburban vacancy rates decreased at a moderate pace. In Q2 2014, the suburbs beat downtown submarkets with a suburban vacancy rate declining to 15.9 percent, while the downtown vacancy rate fell to 11.8 percent. Suburban office markets with the lowest vacancy rates include three in Northern California: non-CBD San Francisco (8.6 percent), San Francisco Peninsula (10.6 percent) and Silicon Valley (10.7 percent).

GlobeSt.com: Are some tenants choosing to buck the trend and move from the CBD to the suburbs?

Monet: The growing demand for downtown locations that is accompanying the economic recovery in the U.S. is squeezing CBD tenants and driving reduced availability, less affordability and increased rental rates in the choicest CBD locations. Net absorption is beginning to reflect a growing interest in the suburbs, and companies are not as eager to move to city centers. As Phoenix office tenants continue to emerge from the recession, suburban office markets, primarily in Tempe, Chandler and the Camelback Corridor—close to employees and offering higher-density parking—are seeing a steady growth in occupancy, according to AZREbigmedia.com. In Phoenix, “Jobs are returning, and with them a steady growth in occupancy that is tightening and pushing rental rates Valley-wide.”

Some CBD tenants are migrating to the suburbs as they get priced out of their locations in the growing economy. Start-ups and expansions, begun in downtown Class B or C locations such as flex warehouse space, may see their best option as a relocation to the suburbs. The decision to make such a move can also emerge from lifecycle changes for maturing companies and their employees. Young professionals don't necessarily settle in CBD neighborhoods for the long haul. They start families, and move back to suburban communities and high quality public schools to raise their children in supportive environments. For these employees, living close to work remains a benefit. Surveys have shown twice as many Millennials prefer to live the suburbs vs. the CBD.

In fact, I feel confident in predicting that urbanizing suburbs that offer easy access to workplaces and a sufficient amount of mixed-use urban amenities will offer some of the greatest real estate opportunities in the near future and beyond.