CHICAGO—The rate of net absorption in the US office market slowed considerably in the first quarter, but increases in leasing, touring, rents and development suggest the sector's recovery will continue and even strengthen, according to JLL's new US Office Outlook.

The Chicago-based firm pegged net absorption at 6.4 million square feet for the quarter – positive, but the lowest in three years and down from nearly 17 million square feet in the fourth quarter of 2014. But John Sikaitis, managing director of US office research for JLL tells GlobeSt.com that the slowdown was largely seasonal in nature.

“We expect absorption levels to return to where they were in the last two or three quarters,” he says. The company predicts that the sector will have a robust 2015, with about 55 to 60 million square feet of absorption, comparable to the 2014 high watermark of 55 million square feet. For example, even though Seattle saw net absorption of -227,802 square feet in the first quarter, Amazon just agreed to lease another 800,000 square feet in the market. Apple, Comcast, Facebook, Google and Fannie Mae also plan to lease new spaces in markets around the country.