Outlook Clouded by Omicron’s Presence
Oahu’s office market lost more than 248,000 square feet of occupancy since the pandemic’s inception and struggled to find its footing as job losses mounted and vacancy rates rose from 10% to 13%. Despite a surge in Delta variant infections that hit record levels during Q3 2021, Oahu’s office market generated almost 40,000 square feet of Q4 2021 positive occupancy growth as vacancy rates fell from 12.97% to 12.71% at year-end 2021.
While rising office job counts, falling unemployment rates, and surging office leasing activity provided fuel for an optimistic outlook for 2022, the emergence of Omicron, the latest COVID-19 variant, could dampen hopes of a 2022 office market recovery.
Key Takeaways
- Office market shows signs of improvement as vacancy rates fall for Q4 2021
- Economy continues to recover
- Leasing activity returns to pre-COVID levels
- Oahu lags U.S. market recovery
- 2022 office market outlook hazy
