Houston rests right in the middle of Commercial Cafe's Top 30 priciest US rents, at an annual rent per square foot of $45.3, which would place it below Helsinki ($56.5) and Edinburgh ($51.5) in a global office rent comparison. Read more from NAI Partners on why the outlook remains positive in the long run.—Lisa Brown

BY THE NUMBERS

HOUSTON—According to NAI Partners, Houston's overall vacancy rate remained relatively unchanged at 20.7% in fourth quarter 2017, a decrease of 10 basis points quarter-over-quarter, compared to a 160-basis-point increase year-over-year. While net absorption for the quarter totaled a robust 750,016 square feet with direct space responsible for 260,977 square feet, and sublease space representing 480,475 square feet. However, it wasn't enough to push the year's total into positive territory, as 2017 ended with 1.5 million square feet of negative absorption being recorded. Overall occupancy in the Houston office market remains below 80%. The current rate of 79.3% is among the city's lowest historical levels. Both the Houston metro’s overall rent and leasing activity are up from last quarter, and from a year ago. Everything considered, despite the uphill battle, the amount of sublease space as a percentage of the total amount of available space decreased to 15.4% at the end of December, compared to 16% at the end of November, while the total amount of available sublease space stands at 8.96 million square feet. Average asking rents grew by 0.9% year-over-year, while concessions such as free rent and tenant improvement allowances continued. The Houston economy continued to improve nearing the end of 2017. The business-cycle index is trending upwards and employment data exceeded pre-hurricane readings. Houston’s not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3% in November, up from 4.1% in October. The November increase was driven in part by an increase in the labor force likely related to Hurricane Harvey. Fuel prices in the region jumped relative to West Texas Intermediate in September but have varied as storm-related misrepresentations lessened. Overall, while the outlook for the immediate future is circumspect, forecasts for the next few years remain optimistic.