PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Palm Beach County’s growth in recent years has ushered in new business and new development. All the demand ranking the county's office market as the 11th highest rent in the nation.
The study was conducted by real estate company Colliers, that looked into Q4 numbers.
"I think it's fantastic, I've watched this area develop over the years," said Regina Cuciniello, who moved to West Palm Beach in 2020.''
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She said that 90% of her clients have an eye on West Palm Beach.
"Every other day, I bump into somebody that is either visiting or is moving here or is looking for a place," said Cuciniello. "I think with the nicer quality of shops and restaurants that are going to start coming in, you better offer them better quality."
According to Colliers, rents showed signs of cooling, however Class A rents averaged $42.92, up 9.0% since 2019.
That's second after Miami, which is ranked #3 at $54.79, and above Fort Lauderdale that ranked #13 at $37.34.
"People want to be in Florida, because of our low taxes, great quality of life," said Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer.
Singer said in the last three years the city leased 1,131,696 square foot of commercial real estate.
That's higher than the city of West Palm Beach that had in that same range at 365,738.
"Companies of all types want to be in Boca Raton," said Singer. "Were trying our best to bring them in as quickly as possible."
Boca Raton is celebrating its centennial anniversary and are looking into four proposals to renovate its Government Campusthat Singer said could bring in a million more square foot of office space.
They would like resident feedback as they're planning to move forward with the process on selecting a developer on Tuesday.
Colliers study found while office rent ranked 11th, South Florida is among the five markets with the lowest vacancy rates at 9.3%.
It notes transactions such as Morgan Stanley's 21,099 square foot renewal at the 1801 Building in Boca Raton West and Reyes Holdings' 17,747 square foot renewal at Phipps Point in West Palm Beach.
Colliers said One Flagler and Banyan and Olive, both in West Palm’s Central Business District preleased at 83% and 55%, respectively.
"In the future, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens, because no matter what, things are going to have to progress," said West Palm Beach resident Adder Theophile.
He said he was born and raised in the area and hopes the development won't push locals out.
"I think it's going in the right direction, as long as the right people are do the right stuff," said Theophile.
Cuciniello agrees, hoping that the new businesses are able to stay long term, as she's seen a lot of turnover over the years.
"I don't want it to turn into a Miami. I don't want it to be like, I don't see the sky anymore," said Cuciniello. "We still have a long way to go, I think before we get to that level and hopefully we keep it great and not so crazy."
The study found at the start of this year 304,000 square foot of office space was still under construction in Palm Beach County.