Office

Tax incentives, leading universities and an educated workforce are drawing companies to the metro, which had more than 5.3 million square feet of space underway as of October.

WeWork has recently become the borough’s largest private office tenant, a sign that new subsectors such as coworking are reshaping the traditional landscape.

Nearly 2.4 million square feet was added to the metro’s inventory through October, with most deliveries located in the West Loop and CBD.

Changes in tax policy are expected to reverse a slide in the metro’s technology sector, which lost talent lately to other West Coast markets.

Developers completed about 340,000 square feet of space in 2018, while another 100,000 square feet were underway. Demand is expected to pick up, putting downward pressure on vacancy.

Healthy growth among office-using industries is fueling demand for space, while a robust development pipeline is maintaining a steady office market, according to a survey of 115 markets by Yardi Matrix.

San Antonio had about 242,000 office-using jobs at the end of August, equal to 23.1 percent of the metro’s total employment pool and slightly above the national share of 21.7 percent.

The metro’s tight office inventory drove vacancy down to 12.5 percent as of September, while more than 2 million square feet was under development, accounting for 2.8 percent of total stock.

The metro's employment grew by 62,000 jobs as of September, while unemployment dropped under 4 percent, its lowest level ever.

The metro’s office market fundamentals remain healthy, boosted by a steady rise in office-using employment.

Tech companies continue to be the main driver for growth in office-using jobs, while the metro's booming coworking sector acts to counterbalance the city's dependence on new upscale office product.

The metro has added 106,000 office jobs, up 61 percent since 2009. The Texas capital has attracted companies and prospective employees with its friendly business climate and low cost of living.