Washington, D.C. Commercial Real Estate on Track for Robust Recovery

The nation’s capital is also its strongest national commercial real estate market, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, and it continues its track to recovery propelled by federal government activity during the second quarter of 2010. Vacancy rates reduced in Washington, D.C. – from 16% in Q1 to 15.6 % in Q2 – after a decisive uptick in demand coincided with the continued thinning of the development pipeline.

The catalyst for growth was broadly distributed among various government agencies, with IRS, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services among the most aggressive tenants in the market. The widespread growth of the government impacted the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland alike, a unique trend given the tendency for administrations to fund only select interests in particular locations. Read more of this post