Office Sector Continues to Soften
The Honolulu office market posted its sixth consecutive quarter of negative net absorption resulting in a steady increase to the island’s vacancy rate that has risen from a decade low of 6.5% in mid-2007 to 8.6% currently. Closely corresponding to this 18-month time period, Honolulu’s unemployment rate rose from 1.8% for December 2006 to 3.8% for November 2008. More than 150,000 square feet of office space was vacated during the past two years as firms related to real estate, construction, tourism and retailing downsized or closed their offices. Click here to read the full briefing.