Office asking rents, vacancy up in Miami-Dade

The average asking rent for office space in the Miami-Dade market increased 22 cents to $31.10 per square foot in the second quarter from the previous quarter, according to a market report from CB Richard Ellis. The market’s vacancy rate increased 1.2 percent to 9.2 percent over the same period.

The report covers 38.98 million square feet of office space in 12 submarkets of Miami and surrounding business districts, including Brickell, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and Kendall. There are 3.93 million square feet of office space under construction in the area, the report said.

The market’s largest lease during the period recorded – from April 1 through June 30 – was a 115,000-square-foot space taken at 680 Brickell Avenue, the report said. Law firm Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod L.L.P. was the tenant.

The highest price sales transaction in the county was also on Brickell, at 1401 Brickell Avenue. Banco Santander Central Hispano paid $114 million for the 237,286-square-foot building.