Activity Begins to Return as 2020 Concludes
The Tampa Bay office market faced one of the most unique and challenging years in recent memory. With the backdrop of a global pandemic, as well as a heated and contentious political environment, the local markets felt the impacts throughout 2020. Overall leasing activity fell nearly 36% to 3.6 million square feet in 2020 compared to the average yearly leasing activity of 5.6 million square feet. Similarly, investment activity declined by nearly 60% in 2020 to a total of $388 million of total volume compared to an average year that experiences over $780 million in transaction volume. Vacancy increased to 11.9% from 10.9% in the previous quarter and 10.7% from this period one year ago. Sublease space available in the market grew, nearly double the amount from the fourth quarter of 2019.
