RALEIGH — The Triangle is now ranked among the top 10 fastest-growing tech office markets in the United States.

Raleigh-Durham’s overall office rent growth jumped 10.9 percent between Q2 2017 and Q2 2019, according to new data from real estate firm CBRE. Compare that to an 8.9 percent growth rate over the previous period between Q2 2015 and Q2 2017.

Raleigh-Durham also saw high-tech industry employment grow 6.8 percent during 2017 and 2018. While this is below the 13.5 percent growth seen in the previous two-year period, the report said Raleigh-Durham is “still full of tech talent.” with technical occupations across all industries growing three times the national average over the past five years at 48.4 percent.

“The technology sector is booming throughout the entire Triangle market,” said Brad Corsmeier, executive vice president with CBRE|Raleigh’s Investor Leasing group, in a statement.

“We are seeing companies move and expand in both our CBD and suburban office markets. Even with significant rent growth for our office market, Raleigh-Durham is still relatively “cheap” compared to other major markets such as Austin, New York, San Francisco, etc. When you couple the competitive pricing with our qualified workforce, the Triangle is a highly sought-after location for any company to expand or relocate their employees.”

The company’s annual Tech-30 report measures the tech industry’s impact on office rents in the 30 leading technology markets in the U.S. and Canada.

CBRE chart

Office-rent growth has been strong for the Tech-30 in the past two years, with 10 markets posting double-digit percentage growth in average rents over this period, led by San Francisco. Overall, rents increased in 28 of the Tech-30 markets since 2017.

The next fastest-growing regions included Portland, Oregon with an office growth rate of around 15.8 percent and a two-year tech job growth rate of 10.3 percent, and Silicon Valley with an office growth rate of 15 percent, and a two-year tech job growth rate of 14. 7 — or around 27,720 people.

CBRE’s report also examines rent gains, rent premiums and net absorption in submarkets that have emerged as tech hot spots within their cities. Raleigh-Durham’s RTP/I-40 Corridor was at the top of the charts, with the eighth highest net absorption growth in the report at 8.1 percent in the past two years. Rent growth in the submarket came in at 9.5 percent, slightly below the overall market rate of 10.6 percent between Q2 2017 and Q2 2019.

“The North American tech industry has diversified its economic base as it has grown, expanding its presence in many Tech-30 markets,” said Colin Yasukochi, Executive Director for research for CBRE’s Tech and Media Insights Center and co-author of the report. “Meanwhile, large tech companies have been an ongoing source of demand; The 10 most active tech companies leasing office space since 2013 account for 27 percent of overall tech-industry leasing.”