Saturday, December 28, 2013

The State of Aberdeen Office

Aberdeen Office Space: Brief Overview

The leasing of office space in Aberdeen, MD has primarily been linked to contractor opportunities on the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG). This activity has dropped considerably over the past three years, primarily because of sharp cuts to Government spending, and Congress's failure to develop a new budget. With the new bipartisan budget that was signed by President Obama on December 18th, 2013, we may start to see an influx of the contractors that were expected during the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). While Congress is still negotiating over the debt ceiling, the fact that they did something is a plus!

Aberdeen Office Space Statistics

The following statistics are based on a Costar search through analytics performed on December 28th, 2013. Leasing activity dropped to less than 30,000 square feet during the year from a peak in 2010. The vacancy rate has risen since then, now at close to 40%, but asking rents have continued to climb. While the fact that asking rents have continued to climb despite the high vacancies, it just shows that landlords and managers are not getting the interest that might encourage a price drop. When interest starts to increase, asking rents may drop to entice potential tenants. Eventually they will reach agreement and start signing new leases, thereby reducing the vacancy rate. 


Aberdeen Office Asking Rents

Aberdeen Office Lease Activity

Aberdeen Office Vacancies