What Submarkets Have Changed the Most?

Younger Partners Research Director Steve Triolet took a long look at how much asking rates increased on a submarket level over the past five years (1Q13 vs 1Q18). It probably won’t come as much of surprise that Preston Center and Uptown have seen the biggest increases over that time period, which has in turn pushed rates in Central Expressway (Central often attracts tenants priced out of Uptown and Preston Center), but some of the other submarket trends are a little surprising. LBJ Freeway has seen a good push in rates, but this is partially due to the freeway expansion project wrapping up a couple of years ago.
Meanwhile, the Fort Worth CBD has struggled over the past four years largely due to the energy price collapse that started in mid-2014. While, oil prices have been recovering some in recent months, any rate growth in the Fort Worth CBD in the near term is unlikely as the XTO division of Exxon Mobile is leaving several large blocks of space in Fort Worth this summer and moving 1,200 jobs to Houston.