Matthew McDonough, left, managing director of Transwestern's NJ office, and Matthew Dolly, New Jersey research director

PARSIPPANY, NJ—Renewed interest in New Jersey's suburban office properties, combined with consistently strong leasing activity downtown, has pushed average asking rents for office space to $26.42 per square foot, according to Transwestern's Second-Quarter 2017 Office Market Report. Nearly $2 higher than it was just five years ago, the figure represents the market's highest mid-year level since 2001.

Small- and mid-size tenants are eschewing the downtown markets in favor of lower rents in the suburbs, where property owners have invested significant capital to redevelop and modernize buildings to meet the standards of today's tenant.

With downtown and suburban submarkets flourishing, New Jersey's office vacancy rate improved slightly during the second quarter, from 15.1 percent to 15 percent. During the past 12 months, more than 2.7 million square feet of space has been absorbed, marking the second-highest year-over-year total since 2006.

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Steve Lubetkin

Steve Lubetkin is the New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com. He is currently filling in covering Chicago and Midwest markets until a new permanent editor is named. He previously filled in covering Atlanta. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. His audio and video work for GlobeSt.com has been honored by the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced audio podcasts on CRE topics for the NAR Commercial Division and the CCIM Institute. Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies. Steve also reports on-camera and covers conferences for NJSpotlight.com, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC. Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996. Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional. You can email Steve at [email protected].