The Miami-Dade County office market continued to attract new businesses in the second quarter. A new market report from Colliers shows the area recorded 248,000 square feet of positive absorption in the second quarter, pushing the vacancy rate down 10 basis points. Most new leases were completed in the central business district in newly delivered buildings.

The market has a construction pipeline of 3.7 million square feet, and 301,000 square feet of new supply delivered into the market in the second quarter. As a result, rental rates have also increased 11.9% to $43.44 per square foot, direct full-service. For class-A space, the rental rate is $50.11, and Colliers predicts rents will continue to growth through the end of the year.

Although Miami is seeing a surge in corporate relocations and population growth, the market has not recorded strong office absorption. In the first quarter, absorption was negative 354,900 square feet, and last year in the second quarter, absorption was down 434,000 square feet. However, the overall market vacancy is up 2% to 12% from the same time last year, illustrating the impact from the pandemic.