Office Glut Comes to Texas With Oil Bust Leaving Towers Empty
- Houston’s vacancy rate leads the U.S.; CMBS delinquencies rise
- Post-pandemic leasing will be test of how space is used
Downtown Houston.
Photographer: Callaghan O’Hare/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
For all the talk of workers fleeing pricey coastal cities such as New York and San Francisco, one of the most troubled spots in the U.S. commercial real estate market is deep in the heart of Texas.
Houston ended last year with a 24% office-vacancy rate, the highest of any major U.S. city, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. After years of construction to accommodate an oil boom that’s now gone bust, buildings are sitting empty, values are plunging and mortgage defaults are piling up.