Northern New Jersey rebounded from 150,280 square feet of negative absorption during the first quarter of 2015 to 567,667 square feet of positive absorption in the second quarter, and a decline in availability of 60 basis points to 25.2 percent.

Although asking rents declined slightly in the region, from $27.83 to $27.65 per square foot, DTZ believes increasing demand for higher-quality office space will push rents higher. The Hudson Waterfront and Meadowlands submarkets led 10 of the 12 submarkets that posted positive absorption in the second quarter. Availability decreased 140 basis points in the Hudson Waterfront as a result of several notable leases in the area. The Meadowlands submarket witnessed 85,266 square feet of positive absorption.

Investor confidence is strong in the Northern New Jersey office market with over $215 million in sales activity, DTZ says. Favorable conditions of rising employment and a strengthening economy are encouraging developers and tenants to enter the market. Three buildings currently under construction, two in Newark and one in Whippany, are already 100 percent preleased.

As the Central New Jersey market continues to improve, investors are expected to become more active, and leasing activity should rise accordingly, the DTZ report says.

In the second quarter, Central New Jersey experienced strong leasing activity. Availability declined to 23.7 percent, with 241,009 square feet of positive absorption. Asking rents dipped slightly to $24.72 per square foot from $24.84 in the first quarter.

The largest lease and the largest sale in the second quarter were both in the Somerset/Interstate 78 submarket. DTZ was the exclusive leasing agent for Center 78 in Warren, for a 144,536 square foot lease with GlaxoSmithKline.

The largest sale for the quarter, 1.4 million square feet at the Verizon Center at 295 North Maple Avenue in Somerset, was also the largest sale-leaseback ever in suburban New Jersey. Mesirow Financial bought the building for $650.3 million, and Verizon will lease back the campus for 20 years. Other notable second quarter statistics include Brunswick/Piscataway submarket availability dropping to 32.2percent and Woodbridge/Edison submarket availability falling under 20 percent.

DTZ announced an agreement to merge with Cushman & Wakefield in a May 11 press release. The new company, which will operate under the Cushman & Wakefield brand, will have revenues over $5.5 billion, over 43,000 employees and will manage more than 4 billion square feet globally on behalf of institutional, corporate and private clients. The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close before the end of 2015. For further information, visit: www.dtz.com or follow us on Twitter @DTZ.