Austin-based company doubles office space in downtown
AUSTIN (KXAN) — There’s more than a million square feet of office space under construction in Austin, according to commercial real estate company CoStar. Much of it is not leased at the moment, which is contributing to the city’s office vacancy rate.
CoStar Senior Market Analyst Israel Linares said the vacancy rate rose to 17.1% at the start of this year. Linares said leasing volume remains below historical averages because companies are signing smaller leases compared to before the pandemic.
“We saw a bit of a decline in occupied square feet for the market. That led to a rise in the office market vacancy rate to start this year.”
CoStar Senior Market Analyst Israel Linares
Linares said that means there’s more supply for companies who need the space.
“There’s options available,” Linares said. “When a tenant wants to move on a property, I think that they have a little bit more leverage to be able to negotiate better terms for themselves.”
‘Good time to start looking for office space’
Nowadays, it’s rare to hear about a company expanding office space. Yet, that’s exactly what Closinglock did.
“Closinglock is a fast growing tech company built to protect real estate transactions,” said CEO and founder Andy White. “Our customers are title companies who have trusted us to verify and secure over $1 million home sales.”
The company just doubled its office space and moved into a 27,000 square foot space in downtown.
“It can hold up to 150 of us, so we can all be together in that one floor plan without having to walk between stairs to see each other.”
CLosinglock CEO & Founder Andy White
White said this move is a result of their growth over the years.
“We have been tripling revenue and doubling head count basically every year,” White said.
This new space will allow them to continue their in-person policy.
“We love the team mindset, the camaraderie, the culture that is much easier to establish in person,” White said. “People always say business isn’t personal. I actually say the opposite. I think business is very personal.”
